PRINCE FREDERICK, MD - According to a joint press release from the Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary's counties' Sheriff's offices, law enforcement officers from Calvert, Charles and St. mary's Counties arrested 9 individuals for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs during combined “Checkpoint Strikeforce� border-to- border initiatives conducted in Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties on Saturday, April 26th and Sunday, April 27th.

The Calvert County Sheriff’s Office coordinated a combined sobriety checkpoint on Md. Route 2 near Solomons Island, with manpower supplemented by Maryland State Police Troopers. A total of 245 motorists passed through the checkpoint which began at 10:00 p.m., resulting in four motorists arrested for DUI. One of the four was also charged with possession of CDS. Presently, Calvert County has had six fatalities on their roadways, of which at least three are confirmed as alcohol related.

A second sobriety checkpoint was conducted by The St. Mary’s County’s Sheriff’s Office on MD Route 4 at North Patuxent Beach Road in California, Maryland. Seven hundred and thirty (730) vehicles passed through the checkpoint. Three vehicles were pulled aside for further roadside sobriety testing. William Thomas Franklin, 27, of Lexington Park, Maryland was arrested by Cpl. Mark Clark and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. The drivers of the other two vehicles were given roadside sobriety tests and determined to be within the legal limit to operate a motor vehicle.

The Charles County Sheriff’s Office conducted sobriety checkpoints in both directions of Md. Route 231 in Benedict. They had 488 contacts with motorists passing through the checkpoint, and arrested four persons. One arrest was for Driving Under the Influence. The remaining three arrests were for CDS.

The sobriety checkpoints were conducted on roadways where impaired driving crashes or arrests have occurred. This multi-jurisdiction initiative was the first of several to be conducted as part of the region’s “Checkpoint Strikeforce� campaign funded by the Maryland State Highway Administrations’ Highway Safety Office, and supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest� media messages, which will continue to be directed to 21-35 year old drivers.

 

The three southern Maryland counties are each overrepresented in impaired driving crashes, injuries and fatalities on state and county-maintained roadways.