A former phlebotomist for the Carson City Sheriff's Department who had a DUI charge from December dismissed for insufficient evidence was arrested Saturday on drunken driving charges.
Kathleen Cherry, 54, of Carson City, was jailed on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence at 5:31 p.m. after allegedly slamming into a parked sedan with her SUV.
According to the arrest report, a witness saw Cherry's 2004 Dodge Dakota run into an unoccupied Mercury Sable on Halleck Drive.
When a deputy arrived, Cherry was still behind the wheel of the vehicle and the passenger-side floorboard was littered with empty miniature bottles of vodka, according to Deputy Jimmy Surrat.
Surrat said Cherry was unsteady on her feet, and smelled of alcohol. A breath test at the scene indicated a blood alcohol content of .193 and two additional tests at the jail came back with .259 and .241 results, according to the report.
She posted $1,132 bail was released from jail at 8:21 a.m. Sunday morning.
In December, Cherry was arrested by Carson City deputies after she responded to the jail to perform a blood draw on a drunken driving suspect.
Officers allegedly smelled alcohol on her breath.
Assistant Carson City District Attorney Gerald Gardner said that because Cherry was a witness on a number of DUI cases for the city, the case was sent to the Attorney General's Office for prosecution.
Chief Deputy Attorney General Conrad Hafen said charges were dismissed against Cherry because a blood draw to determine her level of intoxication was administered more than two hours after she was arrested.
"If you don't have the blood draw or alcohol test within two hours, from the time that the person's detained, you can't proceed on a driving under a influence charge," he said. "There was insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt and based on that no charges were filed."
Cherry did not return calls seeking comment.
- Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.