Thursday, November 4, 2010

Transient Roofer--6th DUI Arrest

Reporter Donna Miller at Cleveland.com reports on the transient roofer charged for his 6th DUI.

"Police arrested a 41-year-old Felicity man on his sixth drunken driving charge. James Davidson was driving a red Ford Ranger west on Interstate 90 near Columbia Road when a fellow motorist called police at 3:45 a.m. Oct. 25. The caller said the pickup truck was drifting all over the road at about 45 mph.

According to the police report, Patrolman Matt Porras stopped the truck just west of Crocker Road after seeing it roll outside the marked lanes several times. The driver's eyes were glossy and he admitted to drinking two beers. He also said he didn't have an Ohio driver's license.

Davidson failed roadside sobriety tests and was cuffed. He refused to perform the breath test. A check of Davidson's driving record revealed he had five DUI convictions; four in Tennessee, one in Ohio, Lt. Ray Arcuri said.Westlake patrolmen arrest two intoxicated roofers on Interstate 90. Davidson's passenger, Michael Weaver, was arrested for disorderly conduct while intoxicated, because he was too drunk to care for himself, Patrolman Joshua Frey said.

Weaver said they threw their beer cans away at a rest stop. Police found a Sunny D container in the truck that contained a mixture of juice and alcohol.

Davidson is charged with felony DUI and was cited for driving without a license, failing to wear a seat belt and driving outside of marked lanes.  Weaver and Davidson said they were driving from the Dayton area to Cleveland to start a roofing job."
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The Great Lakes shoreline is dotted with many beautiful and old American houses often protected by gorgeous slate roofs.   I've seen them. 

While the Great Lakes region does not suffer anything near the horrific tornado alley weather, seasonal storms sometimes bring old trees down on the homes wrecking roofs.  The region frequently experiences an influx of "storm chaser" contractors and my friends tell me that this last autumn brought a lot of these contractors and their workers into the region often via I-90 a coast-to-coast highway.  While you will find alcoholics and drug addicts in every calling, with these contractors you get alcoholics and drug addicts on wheels. 

When I was a teenager, an older female cousin dated one of these guys, an alcoholic "drywall-er." He hired me as a helper, which most consisted of sitting in a bar with him until he was too drunk to work. When he did work he was an "artist," in fact I'm certain I never again saw anyone who could do what he did with dry wall and a hammer.  Remarkable.

He disappeared with the seasons.

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