Judge orders bond after 9th DUI charge

A judge said jail was the only sure way to keep the man off the streets.
LEECHBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A man who police said has eight drunken-driving convictions has been arrested on charges he drove drunk a ninth time.
Police charged Timothy A. Butler, 44, of Kiski Township, for crashing a car he was driving April 16 into the rear of another driven by a woman he knows, Cathy Jo Illiano, 41.
Illiano is also charged with drunken driving. Her blood-alcohol content was 0.20 percent -- 21/2 times the state's 0.08 percent limit, police said.
Butler refused a test to determine his blood-alcohol content, but police said his glassy eyes, slurred speech and the crash show he was too drunk to drive safely.
Butler says he wasn't drunk and didn't refuse the test.
District Justice Michael Gerheim didn't believe him and decided the only sure way to keep Butler off the streets was to jail him in lieu of $50,000 bond Wednesday.
"Mr. Butler, you're going to end up killing someone. I don't know how else to keep you off the highway," Justice Gerheim said.
Police said Butler's license was already suspended through the year 2018 because of past drunken-driving convictions.
The wreck occurred when Butler and Illiano were test-driving cars after doing mechanical work on them.
Police had earlier jailed Butler because they said he threatened to kill police who were investigating the crash. That's why his arraignment on the drunken-driving charges was delayed until Wednesday.
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