it's official, Chris Henry blows

[Mr. Laz]

Bengals' Henry must use breathalyzer

BY BARRETT J. BRUNSMAN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

BATAVIA – BATAVIA – Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry will have to blow into a breathalyzer before he can start his car, a Clermont County Municipal Court judge ruled Tuesday.

In a pretrial hearing that stemmed from Henry’s DUI arrest June 3 on Interstate 275 in Union Township, Judge Victor M. Haddad granted the football player’s request that he be allowed back behind the wheel – so long as Henry has an ignition interlock system on whatever car he drives.

Henry’s attorney, Edward C. Perry, reiterated Henry’s not-guilty plea, and Perry requested that Henry be allowed to drive to and from his job with the Bengals, regardless of the time or day.


Assistant Prosecutor Carol Rowe said she didn’t object as long as the car had an interlock system.

Henry stood before the judge during the 3-minute appearance, but he said nothing.

Wearing black pants and a white short-sleeved shirt that revealed tattoos on both arms, Henry didn’t answer questions after the hearing. His attorney also declined comment.

A Florence resident, Henry was driving a 1984 passenger car 82 miles an hour in an area where the speed limit is 65 mph, according to a report by Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Michael Shimko.

Henry, 23, was taken to the Milford Police Department, where he voluntarily took a breath test. His blood-alcohol level registered .092 percent, police said. Henry’s driver’s license was suspended automatically because he tested above Ohio’s legal limit of .08.

Perry noted Tuesday that Henry had been polite and cooperative with police, and that Henry had auto insurance.

Before allowing Henry to drive, Haddad noted that Henry had no record of previous convictions or stops for driving under the influence of alcohol. Perry said that was his understanding.

The judge imposed no restrictions on when or where Henry is allowed to drive, but Haddad instructed Henry to meet with a court compliance officer to discuss the options and costs of an interlock system for his car, as well as a letter granting permission to drive.

Such a system won’t allow a car to start until after someone breathes into the device to ensure he hasn’t been drinking.

Some interlock systems can be programmed to randomly monitor somebody behind the wheel of a moving car by beeping until the driver blows into a hand-held tube.

If the driver tests positive or fails to respond, the horn honks repeatedly while the car’s lights flash.

Henry might have to pay an installation charge and monthly service fees, which can vary according to the interlock vendor.

Perry asked for at least a month to prepare for Henry’s next court appearance in Clermont County, which was scheduled for July 26 before Haddad.

Henry, who is in his second season with the Bengals, pleaded not guilty June 15 to providing alcohol to three underage women at a Covington hotel in April. A pretrial hearing is set for June 29.

Kenton District Judge Douglas J. Grothaus ordered Henry to not drink any alcohol as a condition of his bond in that case.

Henry also faces a charge of carrying a concealed firearm in Florida, stemming from a Jan. 28 arrest.

In December, Henry was charged with marijuana possession in Covington. He pleaded guilty to that. In a plea agreement, he avoided jail time by entering a drug rehabilitation program.

E-mail bbrunsman@enquirer.com