A longtime Warren district court judge has been charged with driving with a high blood alcohol content and crashing into a SMART bus in Sterling Heights, according to court records.
Judge John Chmura, 63, of Warren’s 37th District Court, was charged Wednesday with operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.17 or more in connection with an accident in late March. The misdemeanor charge is punishable by up to a year in jail.
Chmura did not have an attorney listed in court records and did not immediately respond for comment Friday.
The charge was authorized by the St. Clair County Prosecutor’s Office, as the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office recused itself because of a possible conflict of interest in the case. St. Clair County Prosecutor Mike Wendling did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to police, Chmura allegedly rear-ended a SMART bus at 11:30 p.m. on March 25 and was arrested. Police said two people on the bus were treated on-scene for injuries, but no one was seriously injured. The bus was stopped when hit.
Chmura was appointed as a Warren District Court judge in 1996. He was made chief judge in 2008.
kberg@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Warren judge charged with driving with blood-alcohol level over 0.17
Reporting by Kara Berg, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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