by A state lawmaker
charged with driving under the influence
has reportedly admitted prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him after initially pleading not guilty,
The Boston Globe
reported.
John Lawn, a Democrat from Watertown, was charged with operating while intoxicated and leaving the scene of property damage, according to records filed in Boston Municipal Court.
Lawn pleaded to sufficient facts of drunk driving but will have his case
continued without a finding
for a year,
the Globe
reported Thursday
. That means that Lawn won’t be found guilty, as long as he adheres to conditions of probation.
He will lose his license for 45 days and was ordered to undergo alcohol treatment, per the
Globe
.
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Lawn was arrested near the State House early Wednesday morning, according to a police report. A bystander near Beacon Street and Bowdoin Street flagged down an officer, who said he allegedly saw Lawn’s SUV hit a parked vehicle on Hancock Street. He also allegedly ran two stop signs.
The officer said he smelled a “strong odor” of alcohol and “observed that the suspect’s eyes were glassy and bloodshot,” according to the report.
When police asked him to take a breathalyzer, Lawn replied, “You know what I’d rather do, I want to take an Uber and go home,”
according to WCVB
. “I am a state rep,” he added, and said he was originally at an event at the State House.
As he left the courtroom Thursday, he told reporters that he “will do all I can to make sure that I live a better life, a healthier life, [and] make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.”
“I own it,” he said. Lawn did not answer questions of whether he intends to resign, per the
Globe
.
Tim Flaherty, Lawn’s attorney, did not return a request the comment Thursday, but said in court that father of five is “widely recognized in his community as a man of great integrity and honor.”
“He has made a mistake,” Flaherty said, according to the
Globe
. “He just asks, like any other person who comes before the court, to be given the mercy . . . the court gives first-time offenders.”
Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.
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