Thirteen DUI, drug and other cases were recently dismissed in Greenwood Municipal Court after a DUI enforcement officer was called to active duty in Iraq.
Officer Roland Galvan, 47, is one of his department’s two DUI enforcement officers and also is a member of the U.S. Army Reserve.
He was called to duty Jan. 4. The cases were dismissed in the court’s Feb. 7 session because he couldn’t testify.
Galvan isn’t expected to return to duty with the department until August 2012.
The situation couldn’t be helped, according to Police Chief Henry Purnell.
“There’s nothing we can do unless there was another officer that could testify in the cases,” he said.
Purnell said DUI enforcement officers typically make cases on their own, without other officers accompanying them.
“We have another DUI officer. A lot of times, they are not working together,” he said.
The cases dismissed on Feb. 7 include:
• Joe Crawford, 43, 715 Fulton St. Rear, DUI (first offense), seat-belt violation.
• Nash Evans, 21, 2684 Mississippi 11 N., Laurel, disorderly conduct - failure to comply.
• vVincent Gideon, 42, 471 White Oak Drive S.W.., DUI (first offense).
• Timothy Hall, 35, 900 Downtowner Blvd., Apt. 81, Mobile, Ala., DUI (first offense), careless driving.
• Earl McClung, 50, 3195 County Road 75, Schlater, DUI (second offense), speeding.
• Justin Nix, 25, 408 E. Cleveland Ave., DUI (first offense), improper equipment.
• Christopher Sherman, 24, 2021 Mississippi 590 Ellisville, DUI (first offense), careless driving, speeding.
• Jerome Stewart, 23, 1026 McLean St., DUI (first offense), seat-belt violation, no driver’s license.
• Carlos Davis, 23, 614 Pine St., possession of marijuana (first offense).
• Michael Raby, 22, 208 W. Cleveland Ave., DUI (second offense), no driver’s license, no proof of insurance, speeding.
nEllis Sanchez Nelson, 25, 105 N. Carver St., Itta Bena, possession of marijuana (first offense).
• Torry Shaffer, 21, 108 E. Percy St., possession of marijuana greater than 1 ounce, less than 1 kilogram, no driver’s license.
• Garseal Webb, 43, 316 Ave. H, DUI (second offense), driving with a suspended license, no headlights, dismissed by judge.
Purnell said the dismissals, while painful, come with the territory.
“We’ve had other people, other officers, deployed,” the chief said.
He said Galvan is an experienced officer who will be missed while serving his country.
•Contact Bob Darden at bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
