Bail has been set at $75,000 for a Toledo man accused of driving while drunk, fleeing from law enforcement and elbowing an officer who was trying to take him into custody on Wednesday.
Deputies with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office attempted to stop the driver, identified as Donald Albert Huber Jr., 70, after someone called to report they found him asleep in his vehicle on Jackson Highway near Tucker Road and woke him up, only for him to drive off.
The reporting party followed the vehicle, which “could not maintain its lane of travel, swerving in the roadway,” until they lost sight of it on Jackson Highway heading toward Toledo, according to court documents.
When a deputy activated his vehicle’s lights and sirens, Huber allegedly sped up, “made eye contact” with the deputy and continued to swerve in the roadway as he fled, according to court documents.
The vehicle reportedly continued driving erratically at speeds between 40 and 60 mph before it stopped beside a trailer in the backyard of a residence in the 190 block of Layton Road in Toledo.
Huber reportedly exited his vehicle, but allegedly failed to follow the deputy’s commands to show his hands and put them behind his back for arrest. When asked why he didn’t stop, Huber allegedly said, “I didn’t do anything wrong, so I didn’t have to stop,” according to court documents.
While the deputy was attempting to place Huber into handcuffs, Huber allegedly “elbowed” the deputy and “pushed him away in an attempt to be released from his grasp,” according to court documents. Huber ultimately fell to the ground and was restrained.
The deputy noted Huber showed multiple signs of impairment, including slurred speech and bloodshot eyes, and saw multiple cases of Coors Light and a vodka bottle inside the vehicle. When asked if he had consumed alcohol, Huber allegedly admitted to drinking “some beers but he didn’t know how many.”
Huber reportedly refused to consent to a breathalyzer test or a blood draw, and was ultimately “secured in a strapped chair” for a court-ordered blood draw. The results of that blood draw were not available as of Thursday afternoon.
Huber was booked into the Lewis County Jail and was charged Thursday with one count each of third-degree assault, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, obstructing a law enforcement officer, first-degree driving with a suspended/revoked license, violation of ignition interlock and driving under the influence.
During Huber’s preliminary hearing in Lewis County Supeiror Court, Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello asked Judge J. Andrew Toynbee to set Huber’s bail at $100,000, citing multiple DUI and physical control convictions on Huber’s record between 1993 and 2012 and a significant warrant history.
“I think the nature of this offense poses a danger to the community,” Masiello said of the current allegations.
While defense attorney Rachael Tiller asked Toynbee to set bail no higher than $25,000 due to his financial status and the fact that Huber’s most recent criminal history is over a decade old, Toynbee opted to set Huber’s bail at $75,000.
“I’m very very concerned about the prior DUIs and physical controls,” Toynbee said Thursday, adding that the attempt to elude allegations gave him additional concerns about Huber’s ability to return to court if he is released.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, June 8.
