A second driving while intoxicated charge filed against local news anchor, M.C.F., 45, has been updated to a felony due to the similarity of the charges, as reported by the Journal Gazette from Fort Wayne, IN.
Three years ago, in 2009, M.C.F., of the 11800 block of Eagle Creek Pass, pleaded guilty to a DWI charge.
M.C.F. was arrested on June 26 and appeared in Allen Superior Court's Misdemeanor and Traffic Division on June 27.
M.C.F is the morning anchor on Indiana's NewsCenter program. She did not do her show on June 27. Later that same day both her biography and photograph had been taken down where it was previously shown on the network website.
A reporter attempted to contact the show's president and general manager, but the call was not returned.
On June 26, at approximately 3:30 in the afternoon, M.C.F. was arrested while outside of a Walgreen's drug store in the 9000 block of W. Jefferson Blvd. Earlier she had entered the store and purchased a bottle of wine. Court documents state that the store clerk found M.C.F.'s behavior alarming, and detected a strong odor of alcohol, which prompted the employee to telephone the police.
Police reports indicate that officers located M.C.F. parked in the drive-thru lane for the store's pharmacy customers, the bottle of wine she had just purchased was partially consumed and the open bottle was inside the vehicle.
When officers approached M.C.F. she grew argumentative and failed to cooperate. Court records state that M.C.F. did not want to hand her identification over to officers when asked and appeared as if on the verge of driving off.
After officers removed her from her vehicle and seated her in the police cruiser, M.C.F. kept asking to speak to the chief of police, R.Y.
As well as her initial refusal to hand over her identification, M.C.F. refused to take the portable breath test and all standard field sobriety testing. Once she was taken to the Allen County Lockup – and at this time it was after 5:00 in the afternoon – she was given the certified breath test.
M.C.F.'s blood alcohol was twice the legal limit 0.08 limit for operating a vehicle – hers registered 0.14 percent.
M.C.F was arrested in 2009 after motorists near Getz Road reported her erratic driving at 9:30 in the morning. The Breathalyzer tested proved that she had a blood-alcohol level between 0.13 and 0.14 percent, again nearing double the limit to drive.
At the time M.C.F. claimed that the reason her blood-alcohol level was high was because she had just consumed portions of a rum cake, sugary candy and was coming off of a medically ordered fast.
Court records show that M.C.F. later pleaded guilty to DWI misdemeanor. Her jail sentence – 60 days – was suspended, however, her license was suspended for 90 days.
Contact a DUI attorney if you are facing your first, or most recent, DUI charge. Whether your charges stem from a DUI, DWI, OUI or OWI, only a qualified DUI attorney can best help you.