A drunk driver faces grand theft charges after the allegedly trashed the alcohol monitor the court ordered him to wear.
The defendant, Forrest D. Egerton, 30, is charged with theft over $1,000 and could face up to four years in prison if convicted on the count.
According to Adult Recovery Program Director Brad Price, Egerton had been arrested for repeat drunk driving and was ordered to wear a transdermal monitoring device attached to his person as a condition of his bond. The device measures alcohol in the system and is meant as a deterrent to the person ingesting alcohol since the court can view the results gathered by the small device.
Price said that Egerton eventually entered a guilty plea to the charge of third-offense DUI and, as a condition of his sentence, was directed to wear the transdermal device for 90 more days.
“He failed to attend his scheduled probation meeting and was taken into custody,” Price explained, noting that was when it was discovered Egerton was no longer wearing the device on his person. “He had removed the transdermal device and disposed of it.”
Price revealed that the electronic monitoring system is not cheap.
“The value of the device is $1,400,” Price noted, adding that it belongs to Warren County and that Egerton therefore owes the county that amount because he disposed of the device.