BURLINGTON, N.C.—
Former state Rep. Cary Allred was arrested and charged with DWI after an officer noticed him driving in a suspicious manner Tuesday night, according to Burlington police.Officer Christopher Gaddis saw Allred driving on South Church St. near Huffman Mill Rd shortly after 10 p.m. and pulled him over on suspicion of DWI. Gaddis said Allred was not using a turn signal.
According to Assistant Police Chief Greg Seel, Allred blew several times into a breathalyzer machine but the sample never registered. Allred claims he did the test correctly, but Gaddis took the former lawmaker into custody for "willful refusal" of the test.
At the police department, Allred again refused the breathalyzer, according to police. He was then taken to the Alamance County Jail where he appeared in front of a magistrate. Allred was later released to a sober adult.
Allred denies he was driving while impaired and said he believes he is being harassed by the police.
Earlier in the day, shortly before 8 p.m., a Burlington police officer spoke with Allred after someone called police to report two dogs left in a car parked at Skid's, a restaurant on Church St. The officer found Allred in a Mexican restaurant across the street and offered to put the dogs somewhere so they wouldn't be left in a hot car, police said.
Allred refused and, according to police, got upset, so the officer's supervisor, Gaddis, was called.
A couple of hours later, Gaddis pulled Allred over on suspicion of DWI. Allred claims he had one beer with a meal at Ruby Tuesday and was driving to his house on Park Ave. when he was pulled over.
A driver that refuses the breathlyzer test automatically has their driver's license suspended. Based on Allred's previous charges in Raleigh, he was driving with a "limited driving privilege" license. However, the license did not restrict where and what time Allred was allowed to drive.
Last year, the former Alamance Co. representative plead guilty to traveling 102 mph in a 65 mph zone on an Orange County interstate while driving to a House floor session in April. He received a $500 fine. Allred said he was accelerating to make sure he stayed on I-40 and told the trooper he was trying to get to the Legislature to vote. The Alamance County Republican says he showed his legislative ID and trooper N.A. Mitchell gave him a warning and told him to slow down.
The Alamance County Republican resigned effective June 1, 2009 following an investigation into his conduct during that April floor session. Allred was accused of embracing a teenage page and was drunk on the House floor. Allred denied both allegations.
Last week, Allred told the Burlington Times-News that he planned to run for the Alamance County Board of Commissioners as write-in candidate.
