Monday, December 29, 2003

ALLEGEDLY INTOXICATED BROOKLYN MAN CHARGED IN TAKING OF LARGE PASSENGER BUS FROM PORT AUTHORITY BUS TERMINAL IN MANHATTAN; ALLEGEDLY DROVE BUS TO JFK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown today announced that an allegedly intoxicated Brooklyn man has been charged in the unauthorized taking yesterday of a 56-passenger bus from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan which he allegedly thereafter drove to JFK International Airport in Queens.

District Attorney Brown said, “The defendant is alleged to have taken without permission a large passenger bus belonging to Peter Pan Coach Bus and to have driven the vehicle, while intoxicated, to Terminal Four at John F. Kennedy International Airport where he was arrested. Fortunately, although the defendant’s alleged conduct posed a significant threat to public safety, no one was injured and no property damage occurred.”

District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as David Slade, 42, of 387 Adelphi Street in Brooklyn who is believed to be a former driver for a private bus line. He has been charged with Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Second Degree, Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle in the Third Degree and Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

The District Attorney said that according to the charges the defendant at about 7:20 p.m. yesterday was observed by PAPD police at JFK International Airport’s Terminal Four sitting behind the wheel of a bus belonging to Peter Pan Coach Bus with the keys in the ignition, the motor running and an open can of malt liquor in the console adjacent to the driver’s seat. The defendant, it is alleged, had bloodshot, watery eyes and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. An intoxilyzer test allegedly showed that the defendant had a .105 percent blood alcohol content, above the legal limit of .08. A Peter Pan Coach Bus official said the bus had been reported stolen earlier in the day and that the defendant did not have permission or authority to take the bus.

District Attorney Brown said that the defendant is being held pending arraignment in Queens Criminal Court.

Assistant District Attorney Christina Hanophy, a Supervisor of the District Attorney’s Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gerard A. Brave, Chief, and Marc P. Resnick, Deputy Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney Linda M. Cantoni, Counsel to the Investigations Division.

It should be noted that criminal charges are merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.