In two separate incidents recently, Troy police said they arrested drunk drivers who had firearms in their vehicles.
State law prohibits possession or use of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol. It’s also illegal to carry a firearm if one’s blood-alcohol concentration is .08% or higher.
One of the incidents happened on Sept. 19, shortly after 2:30 a.m. at East Big Beaver and Rochester roads, where officers pulled over the driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee for reportedly speeding. The driver, a 36-year-old New Haven, was suspected of being drunk due to slurred speech and odor of intoxicants, police said. He performed poorly on sobriety evaluations and submitted to a preliminary breath test which measured his blood-alcohol concentration at .17%, police said.
The man was taken to Troy’s lock-up facility where a vehicle search turned up a Sig Sauer P365 handgun in the center console; the driver doesn’t have a concealed pistol license, police said. At the lock-up facility, the man refused a breath test, so a search warrant was obtained for a blood draw which was performed at an area hospital, police said. The case was turned over to Troy’s detective bureau.
The other incident happened on Sept 15, shortly before 3 a.m. when officers pulled over the driver of a Chrysler 200 for running a red light at Rochester and East Long Lake roads, police said.
The driver, a 31-year-old Detroit man, reportedly showed signs of being drunk — bloodshot, glassy eyes along with slurred speech and the odor of intoxicants, police said. The man told officers he had a gun in the car’s passenger compartment which he said was registered to him but he didn’t have a concealed pistol license, police said.
Officers confiscated a Springfield XD-40 firearm from the front passenger seat’s rear pouch, police said.
After the man reportedly performed poorly on sobriety evaluations, he submitted to a preliminary breath test which measured his blood-alcohol concentration at .16%, police said. He was transported to Troy’s lock-up facility where a breath test measured his BAC at .13%, police said.