Hero Takes Keys From Drunk Driver – St.Marys Man Charged – Name Released

(MUNICIPALITY OF WEST PERTH, ON) – On Saturday June 04, 2016, shortly after 5 p.m., a Perth County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer was dispatched to the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) store in Mitchell where a customer was refused service due to his intoxication.

The OPP officer attended the parking lot of the LCBO store where a citizen handed the officer vehicle keys belonging to a GMC Sierra. The citizen advised that he had taken the keys from the male who had been refused service.

The officer determined that the intoxicated male had been driving the GMC Sierra pickup truck that was parked along the road near the LCBO store. The officer spoke with the male who had been refused service, and observed obvious signs of intoxication. The male was arrested and transported to the Perth County OPP Detachment in Sebringville where he failed two Intoxilyzer breath tests.

53-year-old Paul BALLANTYNE of St.Marys was charged with the following Criminal Code of Canada offences:

Driving while ability impaired – motor vehicle (alcohol)

Driving with more than 80 mgs of alcohol in blood

He was released on a Promise to Appear and has a court appearance scheduled for Monday July 04, 2016, at the Ontario Court of Justice in Stratford. He received an automatic 90 day driver’s licence suspension and his motor vehicle was impounded for seven days.

Anyone suspecting a driver may be impaired is encouraged to contact their local police. The OPP can be reached anytime, anywhere in the Province of Ontario, at 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2000.

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