Bubbaworld

Oklahoma State Representative John Trebilcock, Republican, who represents District 98, in Broken Arrow was arrested on a DUI charge in Tulsa at 2:31 AM on March 31, 2007.

The arresting officer indicated in his report that Trebilcock’s SUV was stopped on East 2nd Street in the downtown Tulsa bar/entertainment district because he was driving without his headlights on.

After the initial traffic stop the officer allegedly detected that Trebilcock presented a strong odor of alcohol, slurred speech and blood shot eyes. Trebilcock allegedly told the officer he had two drinks with dinner and that he smelled like alcohol because he had just kissed a girl that had been drinking.

According to the arresting officer’s report Trebilcock refused to take a breathalyzer test saying that he didn’t trust the test’s validity. He was booked into the Tulsa jail at 3:59 AM, was held for over 6 hours and was released on bond totaling $570.

Trebilcock was first elected to the Oklahoma House in 2002 and authored a 2005 law that requires people who are convicted of a second charge of DUI to install ignition interlocking alcohol-detection devices in their automobiles before they can get their driver’s licenses back.

This is Trebilcock’s first DUI arrest and he has not been formally charged, as of this writing.

Commentary and Opinion

It is going to be very interesting to watch as this case plays out, or doesn’t as the case may be. Representative Trebilcock, like anyone accused of a crime, is entitled to a presumption of innocence.

But unlike the vast majority of Oklahomans, Representative Trebilcock is a member of the Oklahoma Legislature. The citizens of Oklahoma have a right to expect those elected to represent them adhere to the highest standards and obey the very laws they enact and require the rest of us to observe.

It will be a sad day indeed if it turns out that Representative Trebilcock was in fact driving under the influence and endangering the lives of innocent persons. If that is the case, he should be punished no differently than any other DUI offender.