An assistant attorney with the Vancouver City Attorney’s Office was cited by the Washington State Patrol early Sunday morning for allegedly driving under the influence on state Highway 14.
Nicholas Z. Barnabas, 32, of Vancouver is scheduled to appear on the allegation May 3 in Clark County District Court, court records show. However, the case will likely be moved to Skamania County, said Vancouver defense attorney Jack Green, who is representing Barnabas. A court date has not yet been set there. It’s common for cases to be moved to other counties when attorneys are defendants, because they have existing relationships with local judges.
Barnabas has worked for the city attorney’s office since January 2016, according to his LinkedIn profile. He remains employed with the city attorney’s office, Vancouver City Prosecutor Kevin McClure said.
At about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Washington State Patrol Trooper Jeffrey Wallace was traveling east on Highway 14 near Milepost 2 in the left lane when he noticed a silver Mazda sedan in his rearview mirror that appeared to be traveling faster than the posted speed limit of 60 mph. The trooper clocked the car at 78 mph, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in District Court.
The Mazda then passed the trooper in the right lane, so he activated his emergency lights and stopped the car on the right shoulder. Wallace contacted the driver, later identified as Barnabas. Wallace said he could immediately smell the odor of alcohol coming from the car, the affidavit states.
When asked if he had been drinking, Barnabas said, “I had a couple of beers way earlier, but I’m fine now,” according to the court document.
Wallace said Barnabas’ speech was slow, and his eyes were watery and bloodshot. He asked Barnabas to step out of the vehicle and asked if he was willing to perform voluntary field sobriety tests. Barnabas said, “I respectfully decline.” He also declined a preliminary breath test, court records show.
Green said that Barnabas was taken to the State Patrol’s Vancouver office, where he provided two breath samples. Barnabas’ breath alcohol concentration was found to be 0.061 and 0.060 percent, Green said, about 35 minutes after being stopped. In Washington, a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or more is considered evidence of drunken driving.
“Nick professionally and properly exercised his rights in declining the voluntary portion of the trooper’s roadside investigation. And only minutes later, he provided two breath samples at the station, both of which were well below the legal limit of .08,” Green wrote in an email.
The maximum sentence for DUI is 364 days in jail and/or a $5,000 fine.
