Tulsa World: DUI defendant shows up drunk for court in Claremore

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DUI defendant shows up drunk for court in Claremore

Sheriff's deputies took James Lee to a Claremore hospital and say his blood alcohol level measured .31 — nearly four times the amount considered legally drunk. Rogers Co. booking photo

By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
Published: 4/22/2009 10:15 AM
Last Modified: 4/22/2009 2:35 PM

CLAREMORE -- A man charged with drunken driving showed up to court Tuesday morning with an intoxication level more than four times the legal limit, Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton said.

James Matthew Lee, 31, was booked on a public intoxication complaint Tuesday evening after spending several hours in the Claremore Regional Hospital, where his blood alcohol content was measured at .33, Walton said.

The legal limit is .08.

"Certainly, we would all agree that when a guy can't suck it up enough to make his court appearance sober then he's really got a problem," Walton said.

Rogers County Special Judge Erin L. Oquin noticed that Lee appeared to be under the influence of some intoxicant during his court appearance. Lee, who lives in Afton according to court documents, was charged in Rogers County District Court with aggravated driving under the influence in October.

With a portable Breathalyzer, authorities on Tuesday morning measured his blood alcohol level at .31, the sheriff said. An actual blood test at the hospital raised that reading by two-hundredths, he said.

Lee has alcohol-related convictions in Rogers County.

He was convicted of transporting an open container of an intoxicating beverage in August 2008 and public intoxication in January, records show.

Lee also was convicted of assault and battery in Rogers County in January. In Tulsa County in 1996, he was convicted of unlawful possession of paraphernalia, a felony, records indicate. By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer

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Reader comments for this story have been moved to the most updated version of the story, now under the headline "DUI defendant is accused of going to court drunk," which was published on 4/23/2009. So far, 80 comments have been made.