Failure to stop ends in DUI arrest

Failing to stop for a stop sign proved costly for a Tamaqua man on July 5.

An officer was monitoring traffic at 7:11 p.m. when he saw an older red Chevrolet pick up truck going north on Washington Street.

When the truck didn't stop for a sign at Washington and Clay Street, the officer made a traffic stop and identified the driver as William Joseph Johnson, 63, of 201 E. Broad St., Tamaqua.

Johnson smelled of alcohol and admitted to drinking several beers from the case of Budweiser on the front passenger floor. He failed several field sobriety tests, then was transported to Schuylkill Medical Center-South in Pottsville for blood tests. Test results show Johnson's blood alcohol content was 0.199 percent, more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent.

He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to heed a stop sign and driving with an obstructed window.