Towler's counsel seeks dismissal for DUI

Mary Jane Epling, The Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky.
·2 min read

Jan. 31—CATLETTSBURG — A motion has been filed in the case of former judge-executive Steve Towler to dismiss a DUI charge after his New Year's Eve arrest.

Towler, 77 — former Ashland Independent Schools superintendent and one-term Boyd County judge-executive — appeared in Boyd County District Court Monday morning to be arraigned on charges of DUI and disregarding a traffic light.

Towler was arrested following a charity event Dec. 31, just after midnight.

According to the arrest citation, Towler ran a red light at the intersection of Winchester Avenue and 13th Street, gaining the attention of an Ashland Police Department officer.

The officer noted a "strong odor of alcohol coming from his person" once a traffic stop was initiated.

After Towler was accused of failing numerous field sobriety testing and blowing a .087 on a breath test — slightly over the legal limit of .08 — he was booked into Boyd County Detention Center.

However, on Monday, a motion was entered by Towler's attorney, David Mussetter, requesting that the DUI charge be dismissed and the results of the "post-arrest breath test" be suppressed.

According to the motion, Mussetter argues that a 20-minute observation period by the test administrator is required by Kentucky Law and Administrative Regulations — stating that the testing officer must observe a subject for at least 20 minutes before administering a breath test.

The document states that the operator of the test began observation at 12:40 a.m. and began conducting the test at 12:58 a.m., therefore making the test results invalid.

Court records show that Towler initially made contact with the arresting officer at 11:53 p.m., meaning that, according to Mussetter, over an hour had elapsed before the Intoxilyzer test was administered at Catlettsburg Police Department.

Following the arrest and a 14-hour stay at the Boyd County Jail, Towler told The Daily Independent in an initial report he had two glasses of wine and didn't feel intoxicated.

"If I had been sober for 25 years, there's no way I could've passed that protocol. ... I knew I failed those tests," Towler said in regards to the field sobriety testing.

Mussetter's motion anticipates bringing the case before Boyd District Court on Feb. 9.

"I'm not pleading innocence," Towler previously said. "That'll be up to the judge."

(606) 326-2652 — mjepling@dailyindependent.com