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State Lawmaker Keeps Seat, Avoids Indictment On Felony Gun Charge

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.

Contact Jo Ingles at jingles@statehousenews.org.
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