A former Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy is scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon in Whitley District Court on a DUI charge.
On June 18, Whitley County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kirk Mays charged ex-deputy Benjamin T. Hodge, 31, of New Zion Road, with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol/drugs and possession of an open alcoholic beverage container in a motor vehicle.
Hodge, current Sheriff Colan Harrell confirmed, is he son of former Whitley County Sheriff Lawrence Hodge who is now serving a 15.5-year federal prison sentence for corruption. He was a deputy during Hodge’s administration.
About 8:13 p.m. on June 18, Mays responded to a motor vehicle accident that involved Hodge, according to an arrest citation.
When Mays spoke with Hodge, he allegedly had a strong smell of alcoholic beverage on his person, had slurred speech, red bloodshot eyes and was very unsteady on his feet, Mays wrote on the arrest citation.
Hodge couldn’t correctly complete the one-leg stand or alphabet test, and refused to do the nine-step walk and turn, according to the citation.
The arrest citation indicates that Hodge refused to take a breathalyzer test.
Hodge was lodged in the Whitley County Detention Center at 10:36 p.m. on June 18 and was released from jail about 12:17 p.m. the following day on a $750 surety bond, according to court records.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday at 1 p.m. before District Judge Fred White.
Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy David Rowe assisted at the scene.
