Press release
On Wednesday, September 12, 2018, Cindy Laurich, of Strykersville, was found guilty of Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs after a 1 day jury trial in the Java Town Court. Java Town Justice Carl Heterbring presided over the trial.
The charges stem from an investigation by Deputy Bradley McGinnis of the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputy McGinnis was dispatched to a motorcycle accident on Curriers Road in Java. While the deputy was at the scene Mrs. Laurich signed off any medical treatment by the Strykersville Rescue Squad. At that point, the deputy had the defendant perform multiple field sobriety tests as she had admitted taking prescribed controlled substances prior to the accident.
After the defendant failed all of the field sobriety tests the defendant was further evaluated by Drug Recognition Expert Aaron Chase of the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Department. During that extensive evaluation it was determined by DRE Chase that she was impaired by drugs. This determination was later verified by the toxicology results which showed that the defendant did in fact have multiple prescription drugs in her system at the time she was driving.
Sentencing on this matter is scheduled for January 9, 2019 at the Java Town Court. The People were represented by District Attorney Donald O’Geen and the defendant was represented by J. Kirby Colling.
“This case is an important reminder that being prescribed medications which can impair ones judgment does not give a person the right to drive a motor vehicle. The accident in this case involved a person driving a motorcycle which requires even greater attention and judgment. A person who is impaired to any extent while driving a motor vehicle is a threat to the general public on our roadways. Caution should be taken when ingesting controlled substances. I am very proud of the diligent work of the deputies who worked on this case. We are very fortunate to have 3 DREs in our county who are extremely well trained in drug impairment cases. Our community should be extremely proud of these officers who go above and beyond,” said District Attorney Donald O’Geen.