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McDonough Arrested On New Drunk Driving Charge
Wednesday, November 20, 2024

(THREE RIVERS) – Former St. Joseph County Prosecutor and current Three Rivers School Board member John McDonough is facing a new charge of drunk driving.

According to records obtained by Swick Broadcasting through the Freedom Of Information Act, Three Rivers Police say on October 30, an officer was running stationary radar on Portage Avenue near Wheeler Street just before 10 PM and saw a vehicle traveling south with a headlight out. As the officer followed the vehicle he noticed it was weaving in its lane and going outside of its lane. It also made two turns with signaling.

The officer stopped the vehicle and spoke with McDonough, who was driving. McDonough told the officer he was weaving because he was trying to get an app working on his phone, and the headlight was not working because his step-son damaged it.

The officer noted that McDonough’s speech was slow and slurred, and that his eyes were watery and extremely bloodshot. He had McDonough get out to perform field sobriety tests. McDonough says he couldn’t do any balance tests because of his medical conditions: high blood pressure, diabetes and anxiety.

The officer says that he noticed a odor of intoxicants from McDonough and when he administered a breathalyzer test, McDonough registered a blood alcohol level of .092.

McDonough was taken to the Three Rivers Police Department for processing. Subsequent breathalyzer tests showed a blood alcohol level of .089 and .088

McDonough was charged with operating under the influence given a personal recognizance bond that night and was scheduled to be arraigned in St. Joseph County District Court, but he waived that hearing.

McDonough is now scheduled to have a pretrial hearing on December 6 at 8:30 AM.

McDonough served as St. Joseph County Prosecutor from 2008 until 2020. In May of 2020, he was arrested for drunk driving following a crash in Lockport Township. In January 2021, McDonough plead guilty to operating while visibly impaired and given a year’s probation and ordered to continue an alcohol treatment plan.

The October 30 arrest is first for McDonough since 2020.

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