Nashville, TN- An intoxicated man, who was awaiting a blood alcohol test, thought he could evade police by hiding in the ceiling of Nashville General Hospital.
Charles Lawrence was traveling 100 mph on I-40 west near Stewarts Ferry Road Tuesday night when police pulled him over. Lawrence smelled of alcohol and showed other signs of intoxication and admitted to police that he had 2 to 3 drinks. After searching his car, police also found unidentified pills that Lawrence tried to grab and crush during his stop.
He agreed to a blood test so he was taken to a hospital. Soon after arriving, Lawrence asked to use the bathroom and officers obliged. It wasn’t long after he entered the bathroom that the officers heard a clamor and entered to check on him. Lawrence had moved the tiles and climbed in the ceiling to hide from the police. They found their offender lying on the air duct above the ceiling, according to The Tennessean.
At first, Lawrence refused to come down from the ceiling and moved to a different part, but police eventually coaxed him down.
Now, after his antics, Lawrence is not only charged with the DUI-related offenses, he has added resisting arrest, tampering with evidence along with resisting arrest and escape.
Alone, the charge of intoxicated driving can have serious ramifications, the offender could be sent to jail, lose their privilege to drive and face exorbitant fines. Many people chose to retain a DUI attorney when faced with conviction of drunk driving. In many cases, a legal expert can have the charges reduced or have the ensuing penalties reduced.
