Man Jailed For Showing Up Drunk, And With Beer, To DWI Hearing

MONTICELLO, N.Y. — Authorities say a New York man appearing before a judge on a felony drunken driving charge arrived at court an hour and a half late, drunk and carrying an open can of Busch beer.

Sullivan County Undersheriff Eric Chaboty says Keith Gruber of Swan Lake had four unopened beer cans in his bag Monday when he tried to walk through the metal detector at the county courthouse.

The Middletown Times Herald-Record reports that Judge Frank LaBuda asked the 49-year-old Gruber if he enjoyed his "liquid lunch." Gruber said he did, then said he was sorry. The judge revoked his bail and sent him to jail, where he remained Tuesday.

Gruber was arrested Dec. 27 in the town of Liberty and was out on $30,000 cash bail. He has prior DWI convictions.

The judge dismissed Gruber's court-appointed lawyer Monday because Gruber refused to cooperate with him. A phone number listed for Gruber was disconnected.

Comments

[grailknight]

07:34 PM on 03/23/2011

Check out this:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/bill-mcclellan/article_f387343b-e8b7-5873-a3b4-1898d8123e56.html

[indothinker]

07:21 PM on 03/23/2011

that's awesome! i want to party with this guy! oy...

[JustinP213]

10:14 AM on 03/23/2011

That's great

[jaycee3]

09:42 AM on 03/23/2011

Head for the mountains of Busch..... BEER!!!!!!!

lol

[MaximusDTX]

09:37 AM on 03/23/2011

If this were Lindsay Lohan, she would have been given a stern lecture about how not to "press your luck" and a week added to her probation.

[BassguyGG]

09:23 AM on 03/23/2011

I could do a cute one-liner here but I won't. JThis incident just goes to show you how complete the grip of alcoholism is. Maybe he'll dry out in the slammer, maybe he won't. But just maybe the judge saved his life or somebody else's by putting him there.

[headly67]

09:15 AM on 03/23/2011

Arthur?

[vooter]

08:24 AM on 03/23/2011

Thank God that pot is illegal....

[Nagarjuna]

10:16 AM on 03/23/2011

Irrelevant

[vooter]

11:26 AM on 03/23/2011

Only for half-wits....

[grailknight]

07:35 PM on 03/23/2011

Didn't get it, did you?

[Frenbar]

07:00 AM on 03/23/2011

If you are going through a metal detector, at least spring for bottles.

[madrediterra]

03:15 AM on 03/23/2011

I knew someone on his 3rd DUI. I advised him to give up driving.

[dayzee10]

12:10 AM on 03/23/2011

Got to give him credit, he is consistent!

[MIKEinNYC]

12:05 AM on 03/23/2011

This man is sick and needs to detox. In a medical facility, not in jail.

He's addicted. He's not necessarily a criminal by nature.

[BassguyGG]

09:25 AM on 03/23/2011

I agree that he's sick and not necessarily a criminal by nature. The grip of addiction can be all-consuming. But driving drunk is criminal behavior that puts us all at risk and he is a repeat offender. He deserves to go to jail.

[HylasBrook]

10:09 AM on 03/23/2011

Well said. In NY, drivers have to complete alcohol counseling before they get their licenses back.. If this guy is on this 3rd DUI, he's pretty hopeless.

Maybe counseling will work this time, but he needs to do this in jail where he's off the road and not endangering the lives of others.

But showing up to your DUI hearing drunk & violating the state's Open Container law, does seem to be like Charlie Sheen's idea of 'winning'.

[thetruth3]

10:15 AM on 03/23/2011

How about jail and then rehab if he wants it? Rehab is a waste of time for those uninterested. Maybe some time in jail might soften his stance on being a degenerate drunkard. If nothing else it will keep the roads a bit safer while he's in.

[indothinker]

07:22 PM on 03/23/2011

most of the court appointed rehab people go back to using once they walk out the door after 30 days. they are not motivated to stay or be sober. its pretty sad, actually

[Chris Utzig]

12:04 AM on 03/23/2011

The real issue is public transit. People drive drunk because how else do you get back from the bar?

[thinking4]

06:12 AM on 03/23/2011

Rural areas in Sullivan County have no public transport.

[vooter]

08:25 AM on 03/23/2011

Is there any other kind of area in Sullivan County?

[BassguyGG]

09:28 AM on 03/23/2011

I guarantee they have taxis on Sullivan County, or he could drink at home. How about that?

[shthar]

12:04 AM on 03/23/2011

You can't take beer into the courthouse?

Did anyone tell the other judges?

[dayzee10]

12:10 AM on 03/23/2011

Judges drink bourbon

[Nagarjuna]

10:17 AM on 03/23/2011

LOL

[jeffp26]

11:27 PM on 03/22/2011

While this is funny, I am appalled that a clown like this can still drive -- apparently -- in NY State. He is a murderer who just hasn't mowed down, or crashed into, his victim.

How many DWIs does it take to lose a license and land in a real jail in this sorry state?

[Ann Thurlow]

12:22 AM on 03/23/2011

Nothing in the article states that Mr. Gruber holds a valid New York State driver's license. If the DWI was a felony, as was stated, he probably did not.

[HylasBrook]

10:15 AM on 03/23/2011

NY is very strict about drunk driving. But just because a person's license is suspended or revoked, it doesn't mean they will stop driving.

Some people are so badly addicted they go back to drinking as soon as they get out of jail.

[BassguyGG]

09:29 AM on 03/23/2011

On the surface it may seem funny, it's really very sad. The fact that he had to bring beers to his DWI hearing shows how completely deluded and addicted he is.