10 jail days and fine for dad who drove drunk with son

10 jail days and fine for dad who drove drunk with son

NILES

A Niles man whose blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.38 Jan. 19, shortly after another motorist spotted him driving erratically with his 4-year-old son in the car, has pleaded no contest to operating a motor vehicle impaired.

William C. Barton, 42, of Warren Avenue, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 days in jail and ordered to pay a $500 fine and costs of $711. Judge Thomas Townley also placed Barton on one year of probation.

Barton’s blood-alcohol reading was nearly five times the legal limit of 0.08.

Another driver observed Barton’s car traveling erratically at 3:48 p.m. on Robbins Avenue and called 911, then followed the vehicle and later gave police the location where Barton had stopped the car — at Barton’s house.

An officer found Barton slumped over the steering wheel, the boy sitting in the back seat but not in a car seat or seat belt.