Schlotter

BUCKHANNON — A driver was arrested Sunday after being pulled over by police and allegedly registering a blood alcohol content level of .299.

John Clark Schlotter, 41, is charged with driving while license revoked for third DUI, a felony, and aggravated DUI, a misdemeanor. He is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on an $18,000 cash-only bond.

According to the criminal complaint, prepared by Patrolman Christopher Spotloe of the Buckhannon Police Department, on Sunday, officers observed a grey Subaru driving “onto the curb of the sidewalk” on East Lincoln Street, before turning right onto South Florida Street, where the BPD is located.

Patrolman First Class W. Loudin initiated a traffic stop, speaking with the driver, Schlotter, and smelling “the odor of an alcoholic beverage,” the complaint states. Loudin “gave a verbal command to Schlotter to step out of the vehicle; upon exit, Schlotter had trouble standing and required assistance to exit the vehicle and stand on the roadside.”

Loudin performed the HGN (Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus) test, and Schlotter showed signs of impairment, according to the complaint. Loudin “asked Schlotter if he wanted to perform the other Standard Field Sobriety Tests, to which Schlotter stated, ‘What’s the point?'”

Spotloe administered a portable breath test to Schlotter, “yielding a result of .356,” the complaint states. Spotloe then detained Schlotter and transported him to a holding cell, and “administered the toximeter to the defendant, which yielded a .299 (blood alcohol content).”

Loudin checked the status of Schlotter’s driver’s license through the Upshur County Communication Center, finding that his license had been suspended for DUI twice before, in 2020 and 2021, according to the complaint.