District of Columbia Council member and former mayor Marion Barry entered a not guilty plea to DWI at an arraignment in D.C. Superior Court this week. Barry faces driving under the influence, operating a vehicle while impaired, operating an unregistered vehicle and misuse of a temporary tag.
The four charges stem from a September 2006 incident where Secret Service agents stopped Barry after he ran a stop light near the White House. According to an agency spokesperson, the Secret Service did not get an accurate blood-alcohol breath test at the time of the DWI arrest. Barry refused to provide a urine sample, citing concern for the chain of custody. Barry has stated that all tests that are a part of his supervised probation for a prior drug arrest have been clean.
After the September arrest, Barry said in The Washington Post that authorities were out to “embarrass and discredit” him. His sobriety was also called into question after a minor accident last May.
Barry is due back in court in early January though his DWI defense attorney has indicated an interest in negotiating a plea agreement with prosecution before the next court date.
