A Bloomfield man who got his truck sideways in a county road with the rear end stuck in a ditch off the side of the road last weekend ended up in jail after he attracted the attention of a nearby resident who saw him throwing vodka bottles across the road. Deputies arrived and arrested him for OVWI.

Clinton Kane Hestand, 31, Bloomfield, was arrested by Deputy Camron Frye of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department early last Saturday morning, January 22.

Hestand was the driver of a silver 2011 Dodge Durango that wound up in a ditch sometime around 2 a.m. last Saturday.

Deputy Frye, the investigating officer, was dispatched at 2:05 a.m., along with Deputy Kelly Hutchens, to an area on North County Road 375 West after a 911 caller said a truck was in a ditch and a man wearing an orange sweatshirt appeared to be throwing alcohol containers into a field across the road from the truck.

While the two deputies were on the way, the caller talked to Dispatch again and said the man was stumbling and came up to her door and knocked before going back to his vehicle. Before they arrived, the caller called again and said the man was trying to get into her house.

When the deputies arrived, they found the front end of the Durango was still in the road but the rear end was in a ditch off the west side of the road. It appeared to be stuck. They also found the man wearing the orange shirt, later identified as Hestand, out of the vehicle walking in the direction of the deputies while the Durango’s engine was still running.

Deputy Frye said the ditch had standing water in it. He also reported Hestand’s pants were wet and disheveled with the zipper fly down. He noticed Hestand had glassy eyes and slurred speech.

Hestand allegedly said he was trying to turn around in the road but had backed into the ditch. He also said he tried to knock on the door of the nearby residence. He first denied he’d been drinking and when asked what happened to his head, he seemed confused. Deputy Frye said Hestand had a knot above his right eye. Hestand said that was from something prior. Hestand claimed he was coming home from work but when asked about where he worked, Deputy Frye noted he has responded to Hestand’s workplace several times during the overnight hours and he had never seen workers there at that time.

Hestand later admitted he had gone to a friend’s house after work and after some hesitation, allegedly admitted he’d had four shots an hour or two before driving.

Hestand failed some standard field sobriety tests and refused to participate in others. He did not agree to take a certified chemical test so a search warrant was requested and issued for a blood draw. Hestand then said he disagreed with the language in the warrant and he would not allow the blood draw to happen. A paramedic was unsuccessful in obtaining a blood draw at the sheriff’s department and Hestand was transported to Greene County General where a blood draw was obtained – results pending.

While Deputy Frye was dealing with Hestand, Deputy Hutchens processed the scene and reported finding two Smirnoff vodka bottles in the field across from the Durango. The bottles were not cold although the ground was frozen that night. She also advised the Durango, that had been left running, was also left in gear.

Deputy Frye said that within the last seven years, Hestand has a previous conviction for operating a vehicle while intoxicated with endangerment.

Hestand was booked into the Greene County Jail at 5:29 a.m. with bond set at $8,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He posted $800 and was released later the same day.

A criminal case was filed against Hestand on Monday in Greene Superior Court. He is facing charges of:

Operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor,
Operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person with a prior within seven years, a Level 6 felony,
Operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor, and
Operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction within seven years, a Level 6 felony.

Hestand is scheduled to appear in court for his initial hearing on February 3.