PRESS RELEASE / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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DWI Jury Rejects “I Drank Right Before
Driving” Defense
District Attorney George Dentes announced today that an Ithaca man has been convicted of felony Driving While Intoxicated in a case where his trial strategy was to admit that he drank an entire pint of whiskey immediately before driving.
Louis A. Gershon, 30, whose last known address was on Cascadilla Street in the City of Ithaca, was convicted by a County Court jury last evening of Driving While Intoxicated as a felony and of Driving With Abilities Impaired by alcohol.
The jury deliberated about 3 hours before reaching its guilty verdict. The jury concluded that on October 4, 2004, Gershon was driving on New York State Route 13 in the Town of Dryden while having more than 0.08% of alcohol in his blood and while his ability to drive in a reasonable manner was impaired. The charge was a felony because Gershon had a previous DWI conviction in Ithaca City Court in 2004.
Gershon attempted to avoid liability by testifying that he guzzled an entire pint of Jim Beam whiskey immediately before getting into his car. A breath test 1 hour and 20 minutes after arrest showed that Gershon’s blood alcohol level was 0.20% -- more than twice the legal limit. The defense called an expert witness to testify about alcohol absorption rates and to express the opinion that, if Gershon drank that much liquor immediately before driving, then his blood alcohol content at the time of the driving would only be only 0.06 or 0.07%. By its verdict, the jury rejected that proposition.
The case has been adjourned for sentencing on August 15 at 3:30 p.m. No jail time is mandatory for the offense, but a State prison term of up to 4 years could be imposed.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Andrew McElwee. Ithaca attorney James Baker defended Gershon. Judge M. John Sherman presided at the trial.
The arrest was made by Deputy Ryan Mayo of the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office.
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