PEORIA — A jury trial date has been set for Peoria Heights Mayor Matt Wigginton in his DUI case.
Wigginton was arrested and charged with misdemeanor DUI offenses in April after he was found sleeping in his parked vehicle in a Downtown Peoria parking garage.
Body camera footage provided to Peoria media outlets showed police arresting Wigginton, who could be seen sleeping in the front seat of his car. His speech was noticeably slurred, but body camera footage did not show him operating the vehicle.
Wigginton’s is pleading not guilty to the charges, his attorney Kevin Sullivan told the Journal Star on Thursday. Sullivan plans to argue to a jury that Wigginton made the right decision by not driving his vehicle that night and he was only in the car, which he said was not started and had not been started, for shelter.
“We’re going to look at the idea that he was on private property, the vehicle wasn’t started, the vehicle had not been started,” Sullivan said. “He had enough wherewithal, enough sense, to not drive the car, he used the car for shelter, not for any other nefarious or other reason, frankly.”
Sullivan said he will also argue the definitions of driving and intoxication in court. He said Wigginton acted with “ordinary care” by not driving his vehicle that night.
Wigginton’s trial will begin July 20 in Peoria County Court.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria Heights Mayor Matt Wigginton to face jury trial on DUI charges
Reporting by JJ Bullock, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By JJ Bullock, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
