By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
ENOCHVILLE — Riding a bicycle drunk, without a headlight, littering and lying in the street landed a man in jail Sunday morning, authorities said.
Bobby Lee Craig III was found asleep in the road at Arlene Avenue about 2:45 a.m., according to a Rowan County Sheriff’s Office report.
Craig didn’t move when Deputy Daniel Myers called out to him, the report said.
But he sat up when Myers tapped his shoe, prompting Myers to notice the “smell of alcohol about him,” the report said.
Craig was holding a white plastic bag with a can of Icehouse beer inside, the report said. He also had a full beer can in each front pocket.
Craig admitted he’d been drinking and that he was on his way home, which was just a few blocks away, the report said.
Myers asked if he was riding his bicycle, but Craig said he was “too drunk” to ride it, the report said, and had been pushing it along the street.
After speaking with him, Craig promised Myers he wouldn’t ride the bike and began pushing it up the street toward Crystal Lane.
Myers then left to go to another call on nearby Winona Avenue.
When he finished the call, the report said, he pulled up to the stop sign at Winona Avenue and West C Street and saw Craig riding his bike down the road.
Craig saw the officer and immediately got off his bike and pushed it over to his patrol car, the report said.
He was no longer carrying beer, Myers noted. Craig told him he hid the empty cans in the grass in front of Living Word Spirited Baptist Church on West C Street.
The report said Craig blew a .17 blood alcohol level at the scene, more than double the legal limit. He later blew two .16 Breathalyzer tests.
Myers found the cans and arrested Craig on charges of driving while impaired and lying in the street in such a manner to impede traffic. He was also cited for littering and riding a bicycle without a headlight.
He was released after posting a $1,000 bond.