Possumblog

Obviously, I was much too quick to pick on Mississippi and Sweden...

Woman On Horseback Charged With DUI

SYLVANIA, Ala. (AP) - A Henagar woman was arrested for riding a horse while under the influence of a controlled substance and using the animal to ram a police car.

Sylvania police arrested 40-year-old Melissa Byrum York around midnight Sunday on DeKalb County Road 194. She was charged with seven counts that included DUI, animal cruelty and second-degree assault.

John Seals, the arresting officer, had to get back in his car and follow York after she allegedly coaxed the horse into a trot.

Seals pulled his car in front of the horse to try to get her to stop. She allegedly rammed the horse into the car and went about 50 more yards and tried to jump off, but York caught her foot in the stirrups.

Police also seized a small amount of marijuana, some crystal meth and several pills. [...]

What are the odds of THAT!?

Anyway, they seem to be going all out on her. You might think that DUI is stretching it, considering that it references the operation of vehicles, not the riding of domestic animals. Well, thankfully, we thought of that, and according to the definition:

(81) VEHICLE. Every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks or electric personal assistive mobility devices; provided, that for the purposes of this title, a bicycle or a ridden animal shall be deemed a vehicle, except those provisions of this title, which by their very nature can have no application.

So, kids--when you get all cranked up on meth and maryjuwana, don't think you'll escape the long arm of John Law by ditching your Camaro and gadding about on your pony.

Posted by Terry Oglesby at April 3, 2007 03:33 PM