Man to cop: If I beat you thumb wresting, OVI charges go away

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Reports said a man was so drunk early Sunday that he challenged police to thumb-wrestle, with the proviso that if he won, impaired-driving charges against him would be dropped.

Police were called about 6 a.m. Sunday to East Indianola Avenue and Market Street on the South Side by an ambulance crew that was stuck behind a car at the red light with the motor running and the driver, Paul Perry Jr., 39, of Sherwood Avenue, asleep in the driver’s seat.

Reports said multiple efforts to wake up Perry were not successful, including once when a cruiser pulled up next to his car and ran the lights and siren. Eventually, a tow-truck driver managed to get into the car and police woke Perry, who smelled heavily of alcohol.

Reports said Perry has several open suspensions on his license. When he took a blood-alcohol content breath test, his BAC registered at 0.236. In Ohio, a person is considered driving drunk if they have a BAC of 0.08.

Perry’s girlfriend came to pick him up. When she did, Perry challenged officer Seann Carfolo several times to the thumb-wrestling contest, saying if he won, the officer would drop charges of operating a vehicle impaired.

Reports said, “Perry was advised officers would not thumb-wrestle him.”