BEDFORD – A Bedford man was arrested after a Bedford Police officer responded to Circle K on 16th Street after a report of an intoxicated male on Wednesday, January 29.
Police detained 45-year-old Anthony Sanders, of Bedford, was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Bedford Police Officer Stuart Ratcliff, officers were dispatched to the gas station at approximately 6:30 p.m. A caller reported a male inside the store appeared intoxicated and was then seen entering a white minivan.
Officer Ratcliff located Sanders, who matched the caller’s description, in a white Dodge Caravan at a gas pump. The officer noted a strong odor of alcohol coming from Sanders, as well as glassy eyes, slurred speech, and impaired balance. Sanders told the officer he had been drinking “hours ago.” Due to Sanders’ level of impairment, standardized field sobriety tests were not conducted. Sanders agreed to a portable breath test (PBT) but could not provide a sufficient sample.
Video footage from the Circle K store showed Sanders driving the Caravan from a parking spot to the gas pump at approximately 6:18 p.m.
Sanders was taken into custody. Officer Haluda read Sanders the Indiana Implied Consent warning, and Sanders consented to a chemical test. He was transported to IU Health, where two vials of blood were drawn at 7:53 p.m. He was then medically cleared and transported to the Lawrence County Jail. While at the jail, Sanders provided a PBT sample that registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.187. The legal limit in Indiana is 0.08.
Those facing criminal charges are considered innocent unless convicted through due legal proceedings. Accusations alone do not imply guilt; the judicial system will evaluate the presented evidence to reach a verdict.
