The mayor of Indiana’s second-largest city pleaded guilty to a drunken-driving charge Monday, after a weekend crash that followed too much wine at a event.Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry’s blood alcohol level was 0.152% after he was arrested Saturday night following a crash, according to the records. Indiana’s legal limit to drive is 0.08%.Police said Henry was driving and his wife and mother-in-law were passengers when he drove left of center Saturday night and struck another car. The woman driving the other car was not injured.Henry was charged Monday with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.15% or more, both misdemeanors. The 70-year-old Democrat pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person. He will return to court on Nov. 7.Henry declined to comment as he left the courthouse.Henry told arresting officers he had “too many glasses of wine at a fundraiser” held at a downtown Fort Wayne theater, the records state. The mayor was swaying, had watery, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, and was argumentative, according to an arrest report.After his release Sunday from the Allen County jail, Henry, 70, read a statement to reporters apologizing “for the poor decision I made to get behind the wheel” after drinking at the event.“Like every other resident of the city of Fort Wayne, I will be held accountable for those actions in future legal proceedings,” he said. “I respect the legal process. I will adhere to the legal process. And I will accept the consequences.”Henry, who was first elected in 2007, has said he plans to run again in 2023. Fort Wayne, population 265,000, is 120 miles (190 kilometers) northeast of Indianapolis.
The mayor of Indiana’s second-largest city pleaded guilty to a drunken-driving charge Monday, after a weekend crash that followed too much wine at a event.
Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry’s blood alcohol level was 0.152% after he was arrested Saturday night following a crash, according to the records. Indiana’s legal limit to drive is 0.08%.
Police said Henry was driving and his wife and mother-in-law were passengers when he drove left of center Saturday night and struck another car. The woman driving the other car was not injured.
Henry was charged Monday with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.15% or more, both misdemeanors.
The 70-year-old Democrat pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person. He will return to court on Nov. 7.
Henry declined to comment as he left the courthouse.
Henry told arresting officers he had “too many glasses of wine at a fundraiser” held at a downtown Fort Wayne theater, the records state. The mayor was swaying, had watery, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, and was argumentative, according to an arrest report.
After his release Sunday from the Allen County jail, Henry, 70, read a statement to reporters apologizing “for the poor decision I made to get behind the wheel” after drinking at the event.
“Like every other resident of the city of Fort Wayne, I will be held accountable for those actions in future legal proceedings,” he said. “I respect the legal process. I will adhere to the legal process. And I will accept the consequences.”
Henry, who was first elected in 2007, has said he plans to run again in 2023. Fort Wayne, population 265,000, is 120 miles (190 kilometers) northeast of Indianapolis.
