By Karen Middleton and Jean Cole
ATHENS — An official with the state chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving was dismayed Wednesday to learn the state Attorney General’s office is investigating whether an Athens Police supervisor tried to dispose of a ticket against a driver whose blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
Meanwhile, the driver's trial on the driving under the influence charge has been set for Oct. 15.
Glenda Richardson, president of the board of directors of the state MADD chapter, said she was "surprised and appalled" to learn of the investigation.
She said that while she has heard of attempts to fix DUI tickets elsewhere she has not heard of it happening in Athens. She said if the allegation is true, she would be “really disappointed.”
Sources have said a police supervisor tried to get a June 7 DUI ticket issued to William Hyatt Jeffers, 43, of Killen dropped before it was reported to the Department of Public Safety or sworn to before a Municipal Court magistrate. His trial has since been scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 15 in Municipal Court, according to court records. His attorney is Dan Totten, court records show
Attorney General spokeswoman Joy Patterson offered no new information Wednesday about the Police Department investigation. She said her office could not comment on an investigation or confirm whether an investigation occurred.
Mayor Dan Williams has already confirmed that two investigators were at the Police Department several weeks ago to interview employees about the complaint. Neither the mayor nor Police Chief Wayne Harper will name the supervisor.
Athens City Councilman Harold Wales said Wednesday he met with the mayor Tuesday to discuss the investigation but said he did not learn particulars of the matter.
“The mayor told me he did not know anything about the investigation,” Wales said. “He said he had met (Monday) with The News Courier and that he was telling me the same thing he told them, and that is he doesn’t know anything about it.”
According to records, third-shift Officer Jason Threet pulled over a Black Chrysler 300 driven by Jeffers about 2:26 a.m. June 7 on U.S. 72 near Seven Mile Post Road after tailing Jeffers’ vehicle from Athens city limits and seeing it swerve and leave the road, court records show.
Jeffers’ blood-alcohol content was 0.17 percent — twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent, according to court records. Blood-alcohol charts show that a person with a 0.17 percent blood-alcohol content would experience over-expression, emotional swings, anger or sadness, boisterousness, slowed reaction time, slowed gross-motor control, staggering and slurred speech.
Jeffers was released from the Limestone County Jail after posting a $1,000 bond, according to jail records. His name and the DUI charge were published in the June 9 edition of The News Courier.
A police officer cannot simply tear up a ticket. Every ticket in an officer’s ticket book is pre-numbered by the DPS. Officers can void tickets if they do it properly. They submit the voided ticket to the DPS as a voided ticket — possibly because there is a mistake on the ticket. In this way, the ticket number is accounted for. It would be a crime to simply destroy a ticket.
Published reports have stated that a supervisor allegedly pulled over a U.S. Postal Service truck on June 8 — the day after Jeffer's DUI arrest — and retrieved from the letter carrier an envelope containing a document reporting the DUI arrest to the DPS. The envelope contained the driver's license and a form requesting that the license be suspended.
A local Postal Service representative said the actions were not illegal, according to reports.
Threet has more than one supervisor at the Police Department, and no official would confirm which supervisor retrieved the letter and under what circumstances.
The ticket was not sworn to before a magistrate until 38 days after Jeffers was arrested. A copy of Jeffers’ ticket shows Threet did not swear the complaint before Magistrate June Whitt until July 16.
Other council members said Wednesday they were aware of the investigation but some knew of it only because of published reports.
Council President Ronnie Marks said the mayor has told him only that there was an Attorney General’s investigation into the Police Department.
“I told him I expected that the administration (Williams and Harper) would take care of it and update me when needed,” Marks said. “I would expect the administration to take care of it because that is their role. I don’t know if the council, as a legislative body, has anything to do with that but I would expect to be updated.
“I try to stay out of personnel issues unless the council has to get involved,” he said. “However, I would expect to be updated at the conclusion of the investigation.”
Both Councilman Jimmy Gill and Councilwoman Mignon Bowers said the mayor has not discussed the investigation with them.
“I only know about it because I saw it in the paper,” Bowers said. “I haven’t heard anything out of City Hall, but I’ve wondered why there hasn’t been anything else in the paper.”
Councilwoman Milly Caudle could not be reached for comment.
