A rural Bloomfield man is scheduled to appear in court early tomorrow morning on OVWI charges. An officer following his vehicle said he’d crossed the center line several times and was speeding before his arrest during a traffic stop.

Alverton Stark Lerch, 53, of rural Bloomfield, was arrested on Saturday, July 27, by Lt. Marvin Holt of the Bloomfield Police Department, after Lerch’s driving behavior attracted the officer’s attention late on Friday, July 26.

Lt. Holt was on patrol around 11:45 p.m. that Friday when he noticed Lerch driving through Bloomfield in a gray Dodge Ram then swinging wide for a turn. Lerch then left town eastbound on State Road 54.

Holt traveled behind Lerch for approximately five miles, and said he observed Lerch cross the center line approximately six times and exceed the 50 mph speed limit by 10 mph.

Holt initiated a traffic stop and Lerch pulled over just before Sharkey Road.

Holt reported detecting a strong odor of alcohol coming from Lerch and when questioned, Lerch allegedly said he had a few beers at the Spot earlier.

Lerch allegedly failed field sobriety testing and was transported to the sheriff’s department where Holt reported a chemical test showed he had a BAC of .14. The legal limit is .08.

Lerch was booked in to jail with bond set at $4,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He posted $400 cash and was released.

Lerch is scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court tomorrow morning, Thursday, August 15, for an initial hearing on charges of:

Operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor,
Operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor, and
Operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to at least .08 but less than .15, a Class C misdemeanor.