Fleissner, charged, maintains innocence

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WILMINGTON — Wilmington police charged Clinton County assistant prosecutor Lindsey Fleissner with operating a vehicle while under the influence Sunday night.

Wilmington Police Chief Duane Weyand said officers and the Ohio State Highway Patrol received a report Sunday night of a possible impaired driver on Fife Avenue.

Weyand said troopers arrived on scene and pulled up behind the reported vehicle as it pulled into Frisch’s Big Boy on Rombach Avenue, where it hit a private vehicle.

Fleissner was determined to have been operating a vehicle under the influence, according to Weyand, and she allegedly refused to take a chemical test, was cited and released at the scene.

Fleissner’s attorney, Scott Evans, told the News Journal that he’s gathering information for Fleisnner’s case.

“She just got charged last night,” he said. “She’s a good lawyer and a good person, and she maintains her innocence.”

Evans said he looks forward to the case and to the state’s attempts to prove their case against Fleissner.

He said the police report didn’t specify what police say Fleissner was allegedly intoxicated on, and he said there are many reasons why one wouldn’t want to take a chemical test, none of which imply guilt.

“They have to prove you guilty,” he said. “It’s highly invasive. You have to urinate in front of someone” or have someone draw your blood, depending on the test.

Evans appeared in Clinton County Municipal Court Monday for her arraignment, according to visiting judge Bill McCracken and Evans.

Clinton County Prosecutor Rick Moyer said Fleissner called him Sunday night, he believes, to inform him of the incident.

“I’ve got one rule, it’s my personal rule: law enforcement does their job. I don’t interfere with them,” Moyer said.

“Other things can cause erratic driving other than illegal drugs or alcohol,” Moyer added. “It’s very important for people not to make up their opinion until the case is completed. Don’t form an opinion until all the evidence is presented.”

Operating a vehicle while under the influence is generally a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by a three-day jail sentence, a three-day intervention program, up to a $1,075 fine, a suspended license or a combination of the above.

Fleissner had one traffic ticket each in 2014 and 2015 for failure to control and assured clear distance. The former was dismissed, and the latter was amended to operating an unsafe vehicle.

She had no prior operating a vehicle under the influence charges.

Reach Nathan Kraatz at 937-382-2574, ext. 2510 or on Twitter @NathanKraatz.

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By Nathan Kraatz

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