Troy woman cited for driving while drunk; police found 58 empty alcohol containers
By Charles Bolinger
Editor • According to Troy Police Ofc. Travis Wilson’s official incident field report, on June 12 he was behind a black 2011 Ford Escape SUV on westbound Edwardsville Road.
While driving behind it, he noted that it crossed the white fog line with both passenger-side tires before stopping past the stop line at the intersection with Interstate 55-70. In addition, the driver failed to signal when changing lanes and turning north onto Formosa Road.
He activated his emergency lights, initiating a traffic stop. The vehicle pulled over and he made contact with the driver, later identified as Karen Castiller, 61, and he explained the reason for the stop.
She provided him with her driver’s license.
“Upon first contact with Castiller, I smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage and [noticed] Castiller had watery eyes,” he wrote.
He requested her vehicle’s insurance. She had to locate it within the cabin. While she searched, he asked Castiller how much she had had to drink? She replied, “Not much. Two beers.”
She explained to Wilson that she was headed home and had not slept.
Wilson asked her how big were the beers and she stated, “12-ounce.” While conversing with her, he noted her speech to be slightly mumbled, slurred and slowed. She handed him her vehicle registration card before explaining she did not have her insurance card for the Escape.
He returned to his patrol vehicle to run a records check on Castiller, which came back clear and valid.
Officers Cody Lucas and Cody Blackburn arrived on scene to assist.
Wilson explained to Castiller that due to her admission of drinking and his observations, he wanted her to exit the vehicle to perform field sobriety testing. She exited the SUV well but again, he noted “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from her person.”
He again asked her how much she had had to drink and she stated, “Maybe 12 beers.” Her breath was also heavy with a strong scent of alcohol.
During the testing, Castiller struggled to keep her head still and she kept staring past Wilson’s finger. Often, she stopped following his finger with her eyes.
In the end, Wilson ended the testing so as not to injure Castiller, who informed the officer she had a bad back.
“I asked Castiller if she would like to provide a breath sample for blood-alchol content (BAC), which she agreed to do. While explaining how it works, she asked, “Can I hold on to you?” She provided a roadside sample of 0.201 BAC. A second breath sample provided later yielded a BAC of 0.184. The legal limit is 0.08.
After she provided the breath sample, she stated, “I know I’m going to jail; I know that.” Based on his observations, Wilson put Casiller under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Sgt. Jessica Callahan arrived on scene to search Castiller but no contraband was found. What was found were nearly 60 alcohol containers in her vehicle.
“While conducting a tow inventory of Castiller’s vehicle, I observed two empty 15-packs of Natural Light Beer, one empty 12-pack of Twisted Tea, and one empty 12-pack of Michelob Ultra in the trunk of the vehicle. I then observed two empty Natural Light 12-ounce cans on the passenger side floorboard, two empty Natural Light 12-ounce cans in a plastic bag hanging from the gearshift, and one open, half-full Natural Light 12-ounce can in the center console cupholder in a koozie. The open, half-full can appeared to still have condensation on it and was slightly chilled.”
Castiller was transported to Troy Police and booked per department policy. Ofc. Lucas remained on scene to release the Ford Escape to ADR Towing. A 24-hour hold was placed on the vehicle.
Wilson read to Castiller the Warning to Motorists, which she signed. She was read her Miranda Rights, which she said and signed that she understood.
During questioning, she admitted she had been drinking alcohol and she drank “like six” beers. She received the following citations – driving under the influence of alcohol/Breath alcohol .08 or more and improper traffic lane usage.
Castiller was released and Ofc. Blackburn gave her a ride to her home.
