dbeard@dominionpost.com
MORGANTOWN – A criminal complaint filed in Monongalia County Magistrate Court offers some details on the Saturday DUI arrest of Morgantown businessman John Raese, president and CEO of Greer Industries and chairman of the board of West Virginia Radio Corp.
Deputy J. Gmiter, who filed the complaint, and Sgt. Broker responded to a vehicle accident on Earl L. Core Road.
Gmiter saw that Raese was unsteady while waiting for EMS to evaluate him. In response to a question, Raese told him he had been coming from Pikewood National Golf Club, which Raese owns.
Gmiter asked Raese if he’d had anything to drink while he was golfing, and Raese said he’d had “a few cocktails.” He then added it was just vodka.
Gmiter observed that Raese had glassy, bloodshot eyes and had a strong odor of alcohol, and conducted field sobriety tests. He wrote that he observed multiple signs of impairment in each test.
Raese then agreed to take a breath test, which measured a blood alcohol content of .151. The legal limit in West Virginia is .08. Gmiter arrested Raese for DUI greater than .15.
Raese was transported to the Sheriff’s office and agreed to take a secondary chemical test. After a 20-minute observation period, the test was administered and yielded a result of .157.
First-offense DUI more than .15 BAC is a misdemeanor.
Raese previously ran as a Republican candidate for governor of West Virginia and, in 2012, for the U.S. Senate.
The Dominion Post has reached out to Raese for comment. This story will be updated.
