-as of [13 MAY 2024]–
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*NOVEMBER 2012* –>
(arrest in austin texas for “public intoxication”)
as a 28-year-old, i pled guilty to “public intoxication” after being arrested at an austin airport on thanksgiving day…
i was never given a breathylzer…
i had merely fallen asleep while waiting to board at the gate…
it was past 9am…i hadn’t drank since 4am the night before (but i had stayed up all night packing my belongings)…
after waiting at the police station all day, i finally went before a judge (handcuffed to a bonafide hispanic wino still reeking of booze)…i had no representation…
the judge told me i could plead guilty and pay a $100 fine…
plead guilty and serve 3 months’ probation in new jersey…
(and have the charge wiped from my record)
plead not guilty and come back to austin to fight the charges…
i didn’t want to (and couldn’t afford coming back to austin)…i had already served a year of probation for the DWI charge and never wanted to go through that process again…and i knew that the probation costs would be higher than the $100 fine…so i bit the bullet…
(my mother agreed to pay the fine for me (as usual))
TEXAS:
Public intoxication is a Class C misdemeanor[23] (Class C misdemeanors are punishable by fine only not to exceed $500[24]). However, if the offender is a minor, harsher penalties apply (especially if a two-time prior offender in which case jail time can be ordered).[25] Section 49.01 of the Penal Code, which legally defines “intoxication”, includes both a blood alcohol content greater than 0.08 but also defines it as “not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body”; thus, a breathalyzer or field sobriety test is not required to prove public intoxication.
(this low standard of proof has led to criticism that officers are using “public intoxication” as a means of harassment, especially towards minority groups)
in NJ, public intoxication is not a crime
(and state law bars municipalities from making it a crime)
Public intoxication, also known as “drunk and disorderly” and drunk in public, is a summary offense in some countries rated to public cases or displays of drunkenness.
(public intoxication laws vary widely from country to country, but usually require some obvious display of intoxicated incompetence or behavior disruptive/obnoxious to public order before the charge is levied)
case # 7812222 (or is it 7813222?)
a class “c” misdemeanor filed by…
on thanksgiving 2012 i was arrested for public intoxication at the austin airport…i spent the day in jail, pled guilty, and paid a $100 fine…
AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT
central east substation
812 springdale road
austin TX, 78702
(512)974-5000
(512)974-5151
(512)974-5900
(512)974-8106
(512)974-5902
i was arrested yesterday morning (11/22/12) for “public intoxication” @ the austin bergstrom international airport (3600 presidential boulevard). audrey alberthal drove me to the airport ‘round 5am (i stayed up all night drinking four lokos / 40oz malt liquor / packing up my belongings / chain smoking). i would also edit film in pinnacle and occasionally write new blog posts. i had been feeling in excellent spirits the entire day and even wrote good-natured FB posts to ex-girlfriends / lovers (as opposed to my usual venom)…
audrey dropped me off at the american airlines terminal for the 7:20am flight. i was charged $60 for my two carry-on bags (suitcase and electric guitar) and i proceeded through the security checkpoint to gate 20. i remained in a pleasant mood during the trip, chatting/flirting with a girl behind me in the security line named “sarah lopez” (she was heading back to california for the holidays). when i made it to the gate, i started chatting up another pretty girl (but her boyfriend ben soon arrived on the scene). they were coming from mexico. i casually introduced myself and then asked her to watch my bags as i tried to locate a place to smoke a cigarette. that was my first mistake…
i suppose i trusted the girl enough to make sure that no one (including her) would steal my belongings and that she’d stick around long enough for me to smoke my cigarette and return to the seat (i’d obviously not paid attention to the sporadic announcements about “leaving no bags unattended”). she agreed to watch the bags. i approached a police officer and asked him where i could find a place to smoke. he friendily informed me that i’d have to go through the security checkpoint again if i wanted a cigarette. so i decided it wasn’t worth it and i returned to my seat. upon my return, a short balding hispanic airline employee told me that i was too intoxicated to board the plane. he said that i’d have to board the 9am flight and that it would arrive in newark at the same time as the earlier flight (~4:10pm). i immediately became concerned about my luggage but he assured me that it would be re-routed. after stewing for a few minutes, i approached him again and requested that i be allowed to board the flight that i was scheduled for. at that point, two police officers approached us and told me that i’d better cooperate with his request. and so i backed down and he gave me a new boarding pass. i sat down at the gate and a young soldier approached me. he asked whether it was my “first time flying”. as he discussed his life in the military, he offered me some ground coffee that was to be chewed like tobacco (for staying awake on long sleepless missions). since i’d been up all night, i happily obliged. that was my second mistake…
it turned out that the coffee chew, although it was rather pleasant, could not be adjusted in the mouth like normal chewing tobacco.
so whenever i attempted it, the coffee would stain my hands and then i carelessly wiped off my hands on my light khakis
so i started looking more disheveled to outside observers
then i realized ’round 8:30am that the new flight was actually at gate 13 (i’d assumed that it was at the same gate and the airline employee who changed my flight did not inform me otherwise). after making my way to gate 13, i prepared for the 8:45am boarding time. there were more cuties in the general vicinity but after the previous unpleasant experience i decided against chatting. at one point i was extremely tempted to open my guitar case and start performing for my fellow passengers but i decided that this would only lead to trouble. so i ended up falling asleep in the chair. that was my third mistake…
when i awoke i was surrounded by 10-12 paramedics. the leader of the paramedics, an older hispanic man, informed me that they had been unable to wake me up (but they conveniently succeeded in waking me up once the plane had already left?) they took my blood pressure (which they told me was abnormally high) and asked me a series of questions. a young asian-american woman assured me that i wouldn’t receive any medical bills. the paramedics departed in about 10 minutes and then i was questioned by two police officers (a young dweeby dude and a friendly older man). after asking me more questions, the younger one informed me that i was under arrest for public intoxication. i berated the young officer during the 20-mile trip to the austin county jail. upon arrival, i was stripped of my belongings and informed that my acoustic guitar would be stored in another facility. they threw away my pack of cigarettes. i was taken to a nurse for a cursory evaluation and then placed in a lounge where i chatted with the other inmates. an australian young man had also been arrested for public intoxication. i waited around all day before i could “see the judge” (or rather, a magistrate). i was handcuffed to a smelly old hispanic drunk after he berated the officer and asked that both his hands not be cuffed. we saw the judge at the same time. the judge was a faggy white-haired man who explained my options. it’d be a $240 fine but it would be reduced to $140 for spending all day at the jail. furthermore, it would appear on my permanent record. the second option would be a 3-month probation program that i could serve in new jersey. in that case, i would probably pay even more “probation costs” but i would have the charge expunged from my record. the third option was to plead not guilty and set a court date in the future to fight the charge…
*odor of alcohol
*impaired balance
*impaired walking
*impaired speech
*bloodshot eyes
*glassy eyes
*disoriented
*sleepy
*coffee grounds spilled on floor / pants / shirt / face
(based on “personal knowledge”)
there was no one i could be released to…
there are bars where i could “continue to drink”…
my “condition appeared to have been worsening” (despite not having drank anything for several hours?)
i could’ve stumbled into traffic?
i could’ve fallen down the stairs?
signed in unintelligible signatures / names by the “affiant” and “magistrate”
police incident: 123270371
officer “m pont” (6678)
peace officer “stephanie schafer” (3779)
exhausted from the days’ events, i chose to pay the fine. i would have 30 days to pay the fine or a warrant would be issued for my arrest (and the fine would be increased). i could just mail in the check and the matter would be resolved. i remained in the jailhouse lounge until 6pm while my “paperwork was being processed”. they wouldn’t even allow me to lie down and take a nap. finally, i was released along with my smelly spanish friend. i noted that i was one of the first to arrive and one of the last to be released…
when i was released, a cross-eyed moustached chubby cop made me sign off for my belongings. i noted that my driver’s license was missing and he told me he didn’t know where it was. he also could not tell me the facility where the guitar was transported to. he was extremely condescending as he laughed about my plight with a younger spanish officer…
once i was released, i borrowed a cellphone from a young spanish girl near her car and called mark. then i attempted to figure out where my guitar was. i ended up next door to the jail where a friendly young security guard advised me on my best course of action. first i called up american airlines and rescheduled the flight to 1:20pm the following afternoon. i told the airline employee that i didn’t have a driver’s license and she informed me that a picture debit card and boating safety license would suffice. then i attempted to call the facility where my guitar was allegedly being stored. the security guard told me that they probably wouldn’t open until monday morning and that i should just have mark ship me the guitar (for ~$60).
then i started walking back to mark’s house (i was on 8th street and would need to proceed northeast). i flagged down a bus on the way and the bus driver was extremely cranky when i asked him the best bus route to the airport. but i did end up driving up to 45th street without paying the dollar fee (since he gruffly inquired me to “sit down!” as i was about to insert the bill).
i knew where the front door key was and so i knocked several times before entering the house. audrey and jonathan were in their bedroom (and likely having sex). after a few minutes, i told them the entire embarrassing story. they immediately took pity on me. i noted that they’d cleaned out the entire art room studio that i’d been staying in for the past several weeks. audrey offered to pay for a room near the airport as they were both working the following day. jonathan gave me a change of clothes and we headed for a late-night mcdonalds dinner before they dropped me off at a local howard johnson’s. i offered to pay john back within the month. he also gave me $75 cash for cab fare.
now i’m here way too early…i probably won’t be in newark airport until past 8pm. i hope mark can give me a ride. luckily, my luggage is in storage…
all in all, this was another in a long line of horrible holidays…
i’m missing my acoustic guitar…
i lost out on over a day of pleasure (including thanksgiving dinner with the blumbergs)
i owe $140 to the state of texas
i have “public intoxication” on my permanent record
my family (not to mention mark’s family + friends) know all about my ordeal and will only use this as further evidence to dismiss me as an “alcoholic”
(which only means that i’ll feel uneasy about drinking around them)
i owe money to john (not to mention mark for all the expenses he incurred)
i made it to dallas international airport…
they are continuing to give me the runaround in the recovery of my acoustic guitar
(just like my princeton experience before hurricane sandy)
(now i’m working with the “evidence department”)
(left a voicemail for “robert wino”)
(there’s still another number to call)
mark has no car to pick me up with? or is he just sick of me???
(or both?)
can’t he borrow his mama’s car?
i board 3:20pm and leave 3:55pm
gonna sleep the whole flight
then figure out where i’m staying tonight…
mark’s house may not be an option
(flashback to when i got out of jail back in january…)
roboray…
AI…
madcow…
i made it to newark airport sometime before 8:20pm. i proceeded to the baggage claim area and another friendly young security guard was able to help me out. he immediately knew that i was there to pick up the electric guitar (“by my hair”) and all he asked me to show him was a boarding pass. of course, i soon discovered that “TSA” had searched my electric guitar case. figures…
i then asked him if there was any way i could get onto the internet and check my gmail contacts. luckily he had some internet network that emanated from his phone? (“behindyoulol” / password: 1234) i got in touch with roboray but he was just heading to a friend’s house and didn’t feel like picking me up. madcow was just heading to mark’s house and agreed to pick me up…i called up mark and asked him not to tell paul about yesterday’s arrest…he assured me he “hadn’t told anyone”…
paul arrived sometime around 9:30pm…i bummed a cigarette from a chubby (yet busty) hispanic woman named “jessica” with a 13-year-old son and 3-year-old son. she was heading back to newark (she works for the “department of transportation”) after spending the holidays at her grandparents’ home in fort lauderdale. she seemed single (she was being picked up by her sister) and i was almost tempted to at least get her phone # or last name…
after a bit of small talk, paul informed me that i “wasn’t welcome” at the blumberg’s house. i had been planning to sleep over there, clean myself up, and head with them to the high school reunion. paul informed me that it was to be held somewhere in basking ridge and that if i didn’t buy a ticket beforehand, it’d cost me $30 (of which i do not have). i must’ve ignored the facebook invite…
we got back to paul’s house and he informed me that i was also not welcome to stay there either (since his “mother” had become frightened of me after learning of last january’s dismissed “simple assault” charge). he agreed to let me use his laptop to continue to find a place to stay for the night. nobody seemed willing to help. champ was back in NYC and he informed me that el madre had received a $700 bill for last month’s princeton ambulance ride (even though i had called the hospital and explicitly instructed them to change my address in their records to 61 clearview avenue). once i get my driver’s license back, i will need to have this changed (paul claims that by law a person has 6 weeks to update his/her driver’s license address). roboray was staying overnight at his friend’s house. larnald was in hoboken with kristina. franken was aimlessly driving around greenbrook with friends.
she had agreed to drive me down to princeton that evening. i decided to spill my guts about yesterday’s ordeal and at that point they insisted on driving me to the emergency room at overlook hospital. i was resistant and even more so when i agreed to walk up to the desk and noted a police officer stationed nearby. the male receptionist informed me that any adult is allowed to refuse an evaluation. knowing that i’d likely at least spend the night there (and with no health insurance) i decided against it at which point el madre told me that she’d never help me again. she drove me down to princeton where she also called up a “carrier clinic”. the only way i could be admitted was to be taken to another emergency room. so we arrived at the princeton house and christopher’s girlfriend’s white car was parked in the front lot (eric and mike’s cars were nowhere to be found). luckily, the front door was open (i suppose mun hoe was home)…after dropping off my suitcase and guitar case, i went back outside only to find el madre driving away before i could get my laptop. realizing that without my laptop i’d be in total limbo (as i had foolishly locked my bedroom door before leaving for austin)…
to make matters worse, i didn’t even have a blanket when i slept on the couch. instead, i made due with two towels from my suitcase. furthermore, the landlord had left notes in the kitchen and bathroom complaining about the filthy state of affairs. he threatened loss of security deposit and “legal action against violators” if this were to continue. he hired a cleaning lady for $60 and requested that each tenant pay $15 extra on december 2012 rent…
i slept the saturday away and had a series of beautiful dreams (if only to counterbalance the nightmare i had just experienced)…
i dreamt of the old man beating me as the mother (and brother) apathetically looked on…all the beatings occurred in the old watchung bedroom (as well as a late-night beating when i walked into their “master bedroom”)…
i then grew up and challenged him but he slipped into the garage before i got a chance…
now mama’s recommending “alcoholics anonymous” and “national alliance on mental illness”…
after being nervous the whole time about being blamed for stealing my roommates’ food, i’m beginning to realize that they don’t eat any of their own food…
there were the same amount of dumplings left here as when i pigged out on them before i left…and those black goya beans had been here since i arrived…so i decided to dig in…
i don’t seem to have any luck when it comes to school reunions…
i really need to shower…i spent nearly $10 on a steel reserve and wolfschmidt pint (there are no more gilbey’s vodka pints left at the store)…it’s gotten extremely frigid around here…what a time to go home(less!)
seems austin police calls their hotline “311”. the evidence holding center is located @ 4708 East MLK. the # to call is (512)974-5151 (but the dispatcher transferred me directly to the center). there, i was informed that the guitar was indeed in custody. in order to release it to mark, they will send me a certified letter which i will need to forward to him. this will state the location of the holding station. so i’d better start checking the mail…
(now my case # is 2012-327-0371)
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*3 december 2012*
i still haven’t received my letter from the austin police department in the mail (the post office website estimates 2-7 days for first class mail from texas to new jersey)…
(if it isn’t here by wednesday afternoon i’m going to call them up again…)
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💕💝💖💓🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤❤️💚💛🧡❣️💞💔💘❣️🧡💛💚❤️🖤💜🖤💙🖤💙🖤💗💖💝💘
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*🌈✨ *TABLE OF CONTENTS* ✨🌷*
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🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥*we won the war* 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥