Drunk Karen Arrested for DUI After Stealing a Vape

Around 8:37 PM on April 26, 2024, Officer Madison Cornielson with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department responded to the Shell at 175 Tallassee Road on a report of a female who had stolen a vape. He arrived on scene and made contact with a store employee, who pointed him towards a female that was seated in the driver seat of red 2023 Ford Escape. The vehicle was reversing and nearly backed into another vehicle, so Officer Cornielson instructed her to exit the vehicle.

The female was soon identified as Karen Carbonara. As he was speaking with Karen, Officer Cornielson immediately detected the odor of alcohol and observed other indicators of impairment. The store employee told the officer that they would not press charges as long as she paid for the vape. Officer Cornielson escorted Karen into the store and allowed her to pay for the vape. She was unsteady on her feet as she entered and exited the store. A subsequent search of her car revealed an open bottle of wine on the front passenger side floorboard. When questioned about it, Karen admitted to consuming wine earlier that day. Based on his suspicion of impairment, Karen was asked to perform field sobriety exercises.

Officer Cornielson started with the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test, and he observed the lack of smooth pursuit, distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation, and the onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees. He did not observe vertical nystagmus. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test. Since Karen was unable to follow instructions, the field sobriety exercises were eventually terminated.

Based on the report of her shoplifting, the odor of alcohol, the open container inside her vehicle, and her inability to adequately perform the field sobriety exercises, Karen was placed under arrest for DUI. Officer Surine assisted Officer Cornielson with placing the handcuffs on her, but she initially she slipped her cuffs. Officer Cornielson read her the Georgia Implied Consent Notice at the scene, but she refused to submit breath samples.

Officer Cornielson then placed Karen inside the patrol car and transported her to the Clarke County Jail for further processing. She was booked into the Clarke County Jail and issued the following summonses: DUI – Alcohol – Less Safe (40-6-391(a)(1)) and Obstruction of LEO (16-10-24(1))

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