A man whose blood alcohol level measured high enough to threaten his life was found guilty in Gloucester District Court on Friday of driving while under the influence of alcohol and put on probation for the next two years.
According to the police report, Nathan Fanning, 28, of 48 Englewood Drive, Gloucester, had a blood alcohol level of .35 when he was arrested, four times the legal limit of .08, and in the range of what some experts consider life-threatening.
During his arrest last April, Fanning told police in Essex that he had just gotten out of a detoxification program at Beverly Hospital that morning. He had been in the program after trying to drink himself to death three nights before, according to the police report.
Fanning's girlfriend called police to report that he was leaving a Main Street bar too drunk to drive. She told police that she tried, unsuccessfully, to take away his car keys.
Soon after, an officer spotted his car driving on the wrong side of the road, and followed it to Maple Street. Before he could pull the car over, it stopped in the middle of the street, and Fanning got out and started walking to his girlfriend's home nearby, the police report states.
When confronted by police, Fanning admitted to having two Budweiser "energy" beers and a 40-ounce beer several hours earlier. He denied having anything to drink more recently. But a breath-test given to him on the spot measured his blood alcohol level at .27, well over the legal limit. The higher reading of .35 was measured later at the Manchester Police Department.
Police also found several empty beer cans on the floor of Fanning's car, they wrote in their report.
Fanning was taken that night to Beverly Hospital, due to his high blood alcohol level, and the fact that he had been feeling suicidal just days before.
Judge Joseph Jennings found Fanning guilty of the drunken driving charge, giving him a 60-day loss of license and ordering him to pay $250 to the head injury fund, a $250 operating under intoxication fee, $50 to the Victim-Witness Assistance Fund and a $50 operating under intoxication victims fee.
Fanning was also found responsible for a marked lanes violation, while another charge of negligent driving was dismissed.
r Another man charged with drunken driving had his case continued without a finding for one year by Jennings on Friday.
Noe Lemus, 30, of 24 Orchard St. No. 2, Malden, had been covered in vomit when he was pulled over by Gloucester police on May 24, according to the police report.
Police had spotted Lemus' car weaving back and forth on Washington Street, pulling it over and finding Lemus, his front-seat passenger, and much of the interior of the car covered in throw-up, the police report states.
Lemus told police he only had a "couple" of beers in Boston, but he failed a field sobriety test and later had his blood alcohol level measured at .19, more than twice the legal limit.
Lemus was given a 45-day license suspension, and was ordered to pay $250 to the head injury fund, a $250 operating under intoxication fee, $50 to the Victim Witness Assistance Fund and a $50 operating under intoxication victims fee.
He was found not responsible for a marked lanes violation and driving an unregistered motor vehicle.
r The officer recognized him as someone he had arrested before. So he knew the man was driving without a license.
Jennings found Arturo Perez, 29, of 403 Summer St. No. 1, Lynn, guilty of driving without a license and ordered him to pay a $400 fine. He must also pay a $100 fine for another guilty finding on a charge of failure to stop for police.
Perez must also pay $50 to the Victiim Witness Fund.
Perez had been pulled over in April on Western Avenue in Essex. Police noted in their report that their department had charged him with driving without a license several times in the past.
r Walter W. Barrett, 38, of 9R Brierstone Road, Rockport, was found not guilty of assault and battery following a bench trial presided over by Jennings.
Barrett had been accused by his estranged wife of hitting her several times with his fists last December. The woman told police that Barrett had come to her house early that morning asking to be let inside to say goodbye. He had been planning to leave for Florida later that day.
Instead, the pair had a confrontation that his wife claimed became physical. Police noted that she had bruises on her right arm and leg.
Robert M. Doyle, 47, of 91 Lowell St., Peabody, was found guilty and ordered to pay a $500 fine for driving with a suspended license. He was also sentenced to six months in jail, but the sentence was suspended for one year, meaning he won't have to serve any time if he stays out of trouble for the year.
Gloucester police had pulled Doyle over at Blackburn Circle last October after noticing that his registration was expired.
Cases dismissed
Several cases were dismissed by Jennings due to lack of prosecution. Among them were:
r Joshua Sawall, 20, of 12 Exchange St., Gloucester, disturbing the peace and procuring alcohol for minors. Police in Gloucester had accused Sawall, an employee of Causeway Liquors, of providing alcohol for an estimated two dozen teenagers who attended a party at his house in February.
r Daniel Perry, 40, of 12B Forrest St., Gloucester, assault and battery. He had been accused of hitting his wife and trying to choke her during an argument at his home May 22.
r Margarito Lambert, 58, homeless, of Gloucester, open and gross lewdness. Police said they had found him standing on a sidewalk on Main Street and urinating on a brick wall last April.
r William Keene, 53, of 13 Taylor St., Apt. 1, Gloucester, assault and battery. His girlfriend had accused him of assaulting her, giving her a small gash on her head, in February 2007.
r Andrew Carini, 32, of 2 Shepard St. No. 2, Gloucester, assault. His wife, who police said spoke Italian and understood very little English, had told police that he threatened her and pushed her in the couple's home on April 20.
r Anthony W. Lynch, 26, two counts of assault and battery. Lynch's aunt had accused him of yelling and swearing at her, and head-butting her son, during an argument in Gloucester last November.
However, a second case against Lynch had a different outcome, resulting in him being placed on probation and ordered to stay off drugs and alcohol for the next six months. The probation was given to him after he was found guilty of possession of a class B drug, resulting from his arrest at gunpoint in January.
Gloucester police had spotted Lynch's van driving down Western Avenue with its headlights turned off. When they tried to pull him over, they say Lynch got out of his van, put his hands in his pockets and refused to cooperate with officers.
For charges of failure to stop for police and driving without a license, Lynch was found guilty and ordered to pay a $100 fine for each count. He was found responsible for a motor vehicle lights violation.
Court records listed two different addresses for Lynch, the most recent of which was 136 Main St., Essex.
