RALEIGH -- A man on his way to meet with his lawyer about a driving while impaired charge was stopped Thursday morning by a Raleigh police officer and charged with another DWI, according to court records.
William Marion Lewis, 47, of Apex was headed to downtown Raleigh when he got stopped on Tryon Road south of town. It was not yet 10 a.m., but Lewis had a blood alcohol level of .25, more than three times the legal limit of .08, records show.
"Oh, I see I'm being locked up today," Lewis said after Wake magistrate Chris Graves put him in the Wake County jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. Graves, deeming Lewis a "danger to the public" seized his 2003 Kia to be sold at public auction.
Raleigh police Sgt. G.M. Smith stopped the Kia about 9:30 a.m. after the car "came to an abrupt stop for a vehicle that was in front of him." Smith also noted that the Kia was partly off the road.
Lewis had "red, glassy eyes, a strong odor of alcohol on his breath," Smith said, and did poorly on a field sobriety test.
Apex police stopped Lewis on April 25, charging him with DWI, resisting a public officer and possession of an open alcoholic container in his car, state records show.
Other than the pending DWI charges, Lewis does not have a criminal history.
"Maybe the time here will give you a chance to think about where your life is going, sir," Graves told Lewis. "What in the world were you thinking, with a blood alcohol of .25 before 11 in the morning?"
Lewis did not answer.
News researcher Peggy Neal contributed to this report.
