Harford County Council President Robert Wagner was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol Monday morning, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff?s deputies were called to the Catered Assisted Living facility located on St. Francis Road in Rock Spring shortly before 11 a.m. Monday morning after Wagner, 49, pulled into the parking lot, according Bob Thomas, spokesman for the Sheriff?s Office. Thomas said Wagner has a relative at the facility.
Deputies found Wagner?s truck parked across two parking spaces with the engine running and Wagner behind the wheel, Thomas said.
“The deputy immediately detected a strong odor of alcohol ? and asked Mr. Wagner if he had been drinking, to which [Wagner] replied in the affirmative,” Thomas said.
Wagner was asked to perform two field sobriety tests at the scene, and he fell twice during one of the tests, Thomas said.
Deputies transported Wagner to the Harford County Sheriff?s Office Northern Precinct, where an alcohol breath test indicated Wagner had a blood-alcohol concentration “well above the legal limit” of .08, Thomas said.
Wagner was issued a traffic citation for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, and released into the care of a friend who drove him home, Thomas said.
Wagner, a resident of Prospect Mill Road in Bel Air, could not be reached for comment.
Wagner was elected to the Harford County Council for District E in 1990. He was elected County Council president in 2002. Running as a Republican, Wagner lost the party?s nomination last month to Billy Boniface.
“After the [primary] election he and I went skeet shooting, and he seemed to be looking forward to having more time with his wife and having more time to relax,” said County Council Member Lance Miller, R-District D.
