On March 17th 2012, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office conducted two separate Sobriety Check Points. The first one was run in the area of Route 235 Hollywood MD. Three hundred sixty two (362) vehicles passed through the Check Point during its operation. Three (3) drivers were cited for having suspended vehicle registrations, one (1) was cited for a suspended driver’s license and one (1) for being an uninsured motorist. Prior to the Sobriety Checkpoint’s beginning, DFC Patrick Bowen responded to a lookout for a vehicle operating erratically. The vehicle was stopped and the operator failed the roadside sobriety tests. The operator was identified as John Pitt Jordan (40 years old of Mechanicsville, MD). A DRE (Drug Recognition Expert) was contacted and responded to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an evaluation. The evaluation indicated Jordan was under the influence of a narcotic.
The second Sobriety Check Point was conducted in the area of Route 5, Callaway MD. Three hundred forty-two (342) vehicles passed through the Check Point during its operation. Two (2) operators were stopped and tested for impaired driving and placed under arrest: Robert John Sweeney (30 years old of Lexington Park, MD) and Victor Charles Brooks (40 years old of Barstow, MD).
The locations and times for all Sobriety Check Points are selected by reviewing statistics in each area (included are accidents, DWI’s, traffic complainants, and traffic violations). The Check Point Operations are conducted with utmost concern for the safety for all involved (vehicle traffic and officers in roadway), also of concern is impact of normal traffic flow. In attempts avoid overly lengthy traffic delays, Check Point Operations are at times momentarily suspended until the traffic back up is resolved and the operation is resumed.
