Date of Incident: 4 March 2011
Location: 400 N. Fruitland Blvd., Fruitland, MD
Suspects: William E. Byrd, Jr., 63, Accomac, VA
Narrative: On 4 March 2011 at 1:49 AM, a deputy from the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office was checking on a vehicle parked in the parking lot of a closed restaurant with its headlights on. Upon approaching the vehicle, the deputy discovered the operator, William E. Byrd Jr. of Accomac, VA, slumped across the front seat. Upon waking Byrd and having him exit the vehicle, it was observed that Byrd appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. Byrd was also discovered to have a loaded .380 handgun inside the vehicle.
During the administration of Field Sobriety testing Byrd swayed and stumbled and at one point the deputy had to grab his arm to prevent him from falling on the ground.
The deputy placed Byrd under arrest for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and the handgun that was located in the vehicle. Upon the reading of the DR15 Advice of Rights, Byrd refused to submit to a breath test. Byrd was transported to the Central Booking Unit where he was processed and taken in front of the District Court Commissioner. After an initial appearance, Byrd was detained in the Detention Center in lieu of $10,000.00 bond.
Charges: Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
Handgun in Vehicle
Handgun on Person
Possession of Handgun while Under the Influence of Alcohol
he looks Republican
ReplyDeletehe was smart enough to pull over and sleep, and the gun? Thats our 2nd amendment, come on people he is an innocent man.
ReplyDeleteSounds to me like he was not "driving" anything. Maybe sleeping under the influence is suddenly now a crime?
ReplyDeleteFood for thought:
ReplyDeleteIt was a bad choice to drink excessively without a designated driver.
It was a good choice for this man to refrain from driving
It was a good choice for this man to stash a gun nearby in the event that he should have had to defend himself against some thug trying to rob him.
It was a good choice for him to leave his headlights on given that one should always be aware of their surroundings in lou of the extraordinary crime rates that surround this area.
And what are we charging this man with? Driving under the influence (Which he was not)and carrying a loaded handgun (a means of defense). And what set it all off? His headlights.
So this man makes 1 bad decision (drinking in excess) and we punish him for the 3 good decisions he did make. This man is of the old generation. The generation which considers that the decisions that they make affect so many others. The generation that does not tolerate the crime that takes place today. The generation that would sooner handle crime themselves than burden the police with another call. While i have the utmost respect for the brave police officers that serve us, I must say that this man did everything in his power to ensure that he was not a threat to others and that nobody was a threat to him. And we're penalizing him for this. What a waste of resources.
I was married to Billy back in the 70's. His father was a prominent OB/GYN in Norfolk, and his mother was an accomplished musician.He was an alcoholic back then, which is why the marriage didn't work. He was a good looking man from a good family. It's so sad to see him like this.
ReplyDeleteYou can't defend someone you don't know. I survived the hell this man put us through while he was married to my mother. My childhood was terrifying while we lived with him. He was abusive, drunk and mean. I am not surprised to see this and am amzed he has managed to stay out of prison. He came from an incredible family. It is sad to see anyone who chooses to live like this.
ReplyDeleteThis man was married to my mother. He was an abusive alcoholic then. She was smart enough to get out. He made our lives hell. It was a terrifying experience to live under the same roof with him. I am not surprized to see this, but only surprized at how long it took him to end up where he is. It is extremely sad to see he never has gotten his life together. He came from an incredible family. Don't be so quick to defend an "innocent" man. It is probably good he passed out before he drove his car while in that condition and ended hurting or killing someone while driving under the influence. I have forgiven him and I pray that he finds some peace in his life.
ReplyDeleteThis is for Billy's children. I am so sorry you had to go through what you did. He almost choked me to death one night in his drunken stupor, and I knew I had to get out. I'm glad you and your mother survived his actions toward you. I knew he had remarried and had children. I wondered what happened to them. Are you on Facebook? I hwould like to see what his children look like. If not, my e-mail address is smeador12342@gmail.com. Thanks
ReplyDelete