Drunk Driver Convicted after Driving Erratically

Prosecutors in Charme Allen’s DUI Unit obtained a conviction today against a man driving erratically on Kingston Pike near Lovell Road. Kevin Todd Parton, 39, was convicted of Driving Under the Influence First Offense. Judge Scott Green set the case for sentencing on March 22.

At trial, Assistant District Attorney Joe Welker presented testimony that on October 11, 2015, shortly before 1:00 A.M., Officer Nina Hummel with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office observed Parton driving on Kingston Pike. Parton drove his vehicle across the white line several times, stopped at a green light, and ran his tires along the curb. When Ofc. Hummel stopped Parton, there was an open container in the center console and two more Miller Lite cans in the driver side floorboard. Parton failed field sobriety tests, and a blood draw conducted at UT Medical Center revealed his blood alcohol content to be 0.183, more than twice the legal limit.

“We are continuing to aggressively prosecute DUI cases because impaired driving can have such a devastating effect,” said DA Allen. According to the Tennessee Highway Safety Office, there were 167 lives lost to impaired-driving crashes in 2017 in Tennessee.

Driving Under the Influence is a Class A Misdemeanor that carries a maximum punishment up to eleven months and twenty-nine days in jail. The mandatory minimum for a DUI First Offense is forty-eight hours in custody with twenty-four hours of litter pickup, DUI School, a $350 fine, and a license revocation of one year.

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.