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State Lawmaker Keeps Seat, Avoids Indictment On Felony Gun Charge

State Rep. Wes Retherford
Ohio House of Representatives
State Rep. Wes Retherford

The state lawmaker who was discovered drunk in a Cincinnati-area McDonalds with a weapon in March has escaped felony weapons charges. 

A Butler County Grand Jury has indicted Rep. Wes Retherford (R-Hamilton) on a drunk driving charge, but it didn’t indict him on a more serious felony charge of improperly handling a firearm in a vehicle. Back in March, Retherford was arrested after officers found him, apparently passed out, behind the wheel of his pick-up truck at a McDonald’s drive-thru.  A deputy stated in the police report that the lawmaker nearly fell over while trying to perform a field sobriety test.  Had he been indicted on that fifth degree felony charge, Retherford could have been removed from his seat in the Ohio House. And though state and county Republicans have been calling on him to resign, it doesn’t appear he'll quit.

Copyright 2017 The Statehouse News Bureau

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.