Here’s a GallCo kid who drank & drove but didn’t lose his license
GALLATIN CO.—The weekend accident involving a local kid in Shawneetown, Zach Holloway, brought to mind a court case we came across prior to publication of the last paper.
In a story that didn’t make print, we learned on April 23 that one William A. Scates (not sure if this is Alex Scates; we’re looking into it), 25, of South Adkin Road, Omaha, was cited April 4 with a February 19 incident of Driving Under the Influence (filed as a Class A misdemeanor) after he was popped driving allegedly intoxicated on Route 13 east of New Market Road, Shawneetown. An Illinois State Police trooper stopped Scates after he said he “improper lane usage,” and upon contact “noticed an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath; his eyes were bloodshot and glassy; and he displayed clues of intoxication during standard field sobriety tests.”
A portable breath test showed Scates blew .150, nearly twice the legal limit; a second test showed .112 a short time later.
No explanation was given as to exactly WHY it took so long to file a charge against the Scates boy, as, were it anyone else, they’d have been cited immediately and set for hearing within 30 days.
A summary suspension (wherein an automatic suspension of a person’s driver’s license is issued when certain DUI criteria are met, such as multiple offenses) was issued by ISP. However, remarkably, little Mr. Scates had that summary suspension “rescinded” by the judge in the case. Also remarkably, the boy was allowed to take a plea in the matter on the same day it was filed (April 4). In his plea, he agreed to have a guilty verdict on the misdemeanor, in exchange for a $750 fine, payments to the Guardian Center and Gallatin County Drug Fund, have an alcohol assessment, and be under 12 months conditional discharge. He was set for a review hearing on March 4, 2012.
The judge in the case, Paul Lamar, agreed to the rescindment of the summary suspension due to, he wrote on the file, “no reasonable grounds.” There was no explanation as to why, when others in Gallatin and surrounding counties get a DUI and blow even less than what Scates did, as well as have fewer other problems attached to the stop, such as the Improper Lane Usage as well as, oh, let’s not forget this….a little matter of Giving Alcohol to a Minor. That charge was dismissed the next day due to the plea.
If anyone knows how this Scates kid rated such preferential treatment (other than being a Scates), feel free to post….but it appears Gallatin has a long history of punishing one group and ignoring the other. We’ll see which one Mr. Holloway belongs to; we understand he has a broken pelvis and other injuries, but is otherwise expected to recover fully from the weekend rollover accident noted in the previous post.
Short URL: http://www.disclosurenewsonline.com/?p=12769
Posted by Jack Howser
on May 14 2012. Filed under Breaking, Gallatin.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
I remember when Josh Woods was killed on the side of theb road by a Scates girl. Nothing ever came of it. Sad the way g. co works isn’t it? All about who has connections or lots of money. But eventually that luck runs out…
Unfortunately the Scates family runs most of Gallatin County and they don’t have any morals. Josh Woods was a tragedy that was caused by Elizabeth Scates who was driving while intoxicated. Had that been anyone else’s child, the would have been sitting in prison still today but because it was a Scates, she got asked to “leave town for a while and let it die down” my question to the people of gallatin county is, what the f*** has any Scates done for you or the community (let’s not forget the droves of illegal Mexicans that now populate Shawneetown) for u to allow them to have this much power?
The Parents got a large settlement but no amount of money can ever replace your Child.
Where in this Country is Justice Equal?
…nowhere TC, sadly, you can only get as much justice as you’re willing and able to pay for…or seek and exact yourself…
This is off the subject but does anyone know what’s going on in the jessika James situation?