Cops: Man found in car extremely drunk
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
Police say a man who was asleep in a car at a Lincoln Knolls drugstore on the East Side on Wednesday afternoon was very intoxicated.
Officers were called to the Walgreens drugstore at 2684 McCartney Road just after 5 p.m. by the manager. When they arrived/ they found a car parked with one tire on a strip of grass and part of the back end jutting into the roadway. The engine was also running, reports said.
Reports said the manager told police that customers had been complaining about the car, and the man in the driver’s seat appeared to be dead or sleeping. The manager said when she went to check, she knocked on the door of the car for at least five minutes and the man would not wake up.
The manager said she opened the door and the man woke up. The manager asked if he needed her to call 911, but he said he was fine, though he was shaky and his breathing was labored, reports said.
When an officer arrived the man, later identified as Keith Sharp, 59, of Youngstown, appeared to be sleeping. The officer knocked on the door of the car twice and got no answer. The engine was still running, reports said.
Reports said Sharp did manage to wake up, but he smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred. He ignored a ringing cellphone on the seat next to him. The officer answered it and it was Sharp’s wife on the other line, who was upset, reports said. When the officer asked Sharp how he got to the store, he fell back asleep.
Sharp was asked to get out of the car and began unbuttoning his shirt, then fell back asleep. He was eventually taken out of the car, and the engine was turned off, but he could not stand up to do a field sobriety test so he was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center, where he signed a waiver to have blood drawn.
Inside the car police found a half-full liter bottle of vodka, reports said.
Sharp was issued citations for open container and driving under the influence; he was then released.