PRINCETON, Iowa — A Scott County Sheriff's deputy was arrested and charged with operating while under the influence after a traffic stop in rural Princeton, Iowa on Friday, Dec. 1.
According to court affidavits, Deputy Christopher P. Carter, 34, was stopped by Scott County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant T. Leonard around 3:18 a.m. on Friday. Carter was driving a black 2017 Chrysler Pacifica that belonged to the state and the sheriff's office.
Lt. Leonard then called for assistance, to which Iowa State Patrol Officer K. Voorhees responded. The traffic stop occurred near the corner of 240th Ave. and 257th St., west of Princeton and north of Lost Grove Lake.
Officer Voorhees spoke with Carter "who had bloodshot watery eyes, slurred speech, and was unsteady on his feet." Voorhees also reported that Carter "had a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath."
The patrolman conducted field sobriety tests on Carter, in which he "observed multiple validated clues indicating impairment." Carter provided a preliminary breath test, which returned a result of 0.182% blood alcohol content. A breath test performed later at the Bettendorf Police Department had a result of 0.190%.
Scott County Sheriff Tim Lane tells News 8 that at the time of the arrest, Carter was "off duty but the arrest occurred in conjunction with a previous work assignment."
Carter was an agent with the Scott County Special Operations Unit at the time of his arrest. Sheriff Lane says that Carter is currently on administrative leave.
As an employee of Scott County, Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham has asked for and has been granted a special prosecutor due to a conflict of interest. Muscatine County Attorney James Barry has been appointed "special acting Scott County Attorney for the purpose of prosecuting" Carter on his charge.
Carter has been charged with operating while under the influence, first offense. Carter had a preliminary appearance set for Thursday, Dec. 7, but has waived his hearing.
An arraignment has been set for Thursday, Jan, 4 at 8:30 a.m. at the Scott County courthouse.