WEST TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — An official with the Vigo County Prosecutor’s Office was arrested following a traffic stop in which police say he was driving while under the influence of alcohol.
According to court documents, West Terre Haute Police pulled over Vigo County Sex/Child Victim Crimes Prosecuting Attorney Kevin O’Reilly, 50, just after 3 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of National Avenue and Schley Place.
The officer reported that he pulled the vehicle over due to unsafe lane movement and driving left of center. Once near the vehicle the officer reported smelling alcohol and that O’Reilly’s speech was slow and slurred. After having O’Reilly get out of the vehicle, the officer reported observing his balance to be off, as O’Reilly reportedly was swaying and staggered from the vehicle.
According to the document, O’Reilly was given three field tests and failed each one. Upon taking a field breathalyzer test, the results showed O’Reilly to be at 0.218%, well above the legal limit of .08%.
A second officer who administered a certified chemical test at the Vigo County Jail reportedly returned a higher level at .241% at 3:49 a.m.
According to the court docket in the case, a special prosecutor has been requested to handle the case, as well as a motion calling for the state to find probable cause and formalize charges against O’Reilly within 72 hours.
“I am disappointed by the events of this past weekend involving our deputy prosecutor,” Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt said. “The Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct require that we have someone from outside the office handle the case. Our office handled the initial steps of filing the probable cause affidavit with the court. After that, a Motion for Appointment of a Special Prosecutor was filed. We will have no additional involvement with the decision-making and prosecution of the case. Any further comment by me would not be appropriate as this is a pending case.”
