Russell County, Pulaski County Kentucky March 8, 2009; At 12:10 a.m. EST Commonwealth’s Attorney Matthew B. Leveridge was arrested after being observed by Somerset Police Officer Michael Correll drinking an alcoholic beverage while at the wheel of an automobile.
Leveridge, the elected prosecutor for Russell and Wayne Counties was taken into custody after being stopped by officers and given a field sobriety test. According to the test seen below Leveridge failed the test, admitted that “he had drank a few alcoholic beverages earlier.”
Leveridge was also given a breathalyzer test which he failed after blowing a .116, far in excess of the legal limit of .08 in the state of Kentucky. Leveridge was released a little after 3 a.m. after being held in the Pulaski County Jail. In recent press releases Leveridge has been regularly seen asking for large sentences of those caught driving under the influence and even taking some of those stops to the Grand Jury to be indicted. It will be interesting to see how Leveridge handles this matter.
The history of Leveridge as a prosecutor, and even before as the Assistant Commonwealth Attorney under the infamous Larry Rogers has been tattered at times for various ethics concerns. Rumors were abound that Leveridge was involved in a drinking incident on the lake and escaped prosecution. During the call for a Special Grand Jury regarding public corruption, Leveridge made substantial efforts to assist in what the former Kentucky Bureau of Investigation was sued for as well as other matters, all of which will be following this story over the next several days including, dodging subpoenas, hiring violations and other matters sure to keep you coming back to USJW.
