Crazy but true story out of Somerset, Pennsylvania where a young man pretended to be a State Trooper and set up a fake DUI checkpoint across state Route 601 at 4am in the morning.
According to the real Pennsylvania State Troopers, 19 year-old Logan Shualis, went to a lot of trouble to set the stage for his DUI checkpoint, including everything from; placing street flairs in the road, parking his vehicle diagonally across the highway, dressing the part, and carrying a BB gun as if it were a real pistol.
One motorist who complied with the hokey DUI checkpoint said Shaulis claimed he was a PA State Trooper and required the driver to hand over his driver’s license, registration, and car insurance papers.
Logan’s hoax wasn’t convincing enough, suspicious drivers quickly notified law enforcement officials of the fake DUI checkpoint. When the real state troopers arrived on scene, Shaulis tried to ditch his BB gun by giving it to the passenger in the car he had stopped at that time… saying, “I can’t get caught with this!”
To make matter’s worse for the young man, state troopers determined Shaulis was under the influence of alcohol during his DUI checkpoint charade. State troopers also determined Shaulis must have driven drunk to the location where he set up his DUI checkpoint. While Shaulis was under the influence of alcohol he was trying to arrest civilians for DUI as well – Crazy but true!
Logan’s checkpoint was shut down permanently and he was hauled off to jail. He faces charges of DUI, impersonating a public servant, and unlawful restraint.
Luckily for us Washingtonions, we do not have to worry about DUI checkpoints, or fake ones for that matter! However most States do allow for DUI checkpoints (aka sobriety checkpoints), so be careful while visiting the great states outside of Washington this summer!
States that do conduct DUI checkpoints include: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.