Crime & Safety

Mentor Police Arrest Pair Of Suspected Drunken Drivers

One of the suspects is also accused of cocaine possession

Mentor Police arrested a pair of drunken driving suspects during two separate incidents this weekend.

The latter of those two incidents began when a car crashed into the barrier alongside the westbound lanes of State Route 2 before the Center Street exit Saturday night, Mentor Police Lt. Ken Zbiegien said.

The driver -- James Fyffe, 52, of Willoughby -- was the only person in the car. He didn't have any visible injuries even though he wasn't wearing a seat belt and may have cracked the windshield with his head, Zbiegien said.

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When the officer asked Fyffe if he had anything to drink that night, Fyffe replied, "Yeah, way too much," according to Zbiegien.

However, Fyffe refused to take breath- or blood-alcohol test.

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At the city jail, officers found a plastic straw with residue on it and a folded piece of paper with white powder on Fyffe, Zbiegien said. Police think the powder is cocaine.

Fyffe was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, cocaine possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

On Friday, police pulled over Shannon Mezgec, 41, of Mentor, on suspicion of drunk driving.

An officer spotted Mezgec driving home from Applebee's along Lake Shore Boulevard. The police officer said Mezgec veered over the median, then almost went off the road the other way and nearly hit a mailbox.

The officer pulled Mezgec over and she admitted to drinking and taking some medication she had been prescribed. She had a breath-alcohol level of .143, Zbiegien said.

The legal limit to drive is .08.

Mezgec has five previous drunk driving convictions. The most recent was a felony conviction in 2003.

Mezgec, once again, faces a felony charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Both she and Fyffe are scheduled to be arraigned Monday in .


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