Alorton mayor charged with DUI after being pulled over in O’Fallon
Alorton Mayor JoAnn Reed was arrested early Sunday and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, O’Fallon police said.
Officers approached a car stopped illegally near the intersection of Green Mount Road and Cambridge Boulevard at about 2:35 a.m.
O’Fallon Police Capt. Kirk Brueggemann confirmed that it was Reed behind the wheel. She was arrested and charged with DUI, as well as illegally stopping in an intersection.
Reed posted a $100 cash bond and surrendered her driver’s license, according to O’Fallon Police Capt. David Matevey. She deferred comment to her attorney, Justin Kuehn.
“It’s important to remember this is nothing more than an accusation at this time,” Kuehn said. “Mayor Reed is presumed innocent and will be entering a not guilty plea as we await the evidence to be turned over by the police department.”
The mayor not driving a village-owned car when she was pulled over Sunday. She has previously faced criticism and criminal charges for her personal use of a village-owned vehicle.
Reed has previously faced charges in St. Clair County that ranged from felony vote buying, official misconduct and impersonating a police officer related to the lights on her car.
Most recently, she faced felony charges of official misconduct for driving a Village of Alorton car and using the flashing police lights. She also was charged with a misdemeanor complaint for using emergency lights on a public roadway. Those charges were later dropped for lack of evidence.
Reed agreed to plead guilty to possessing oscillating police lights on her private vehicle, a class A misdemeanor, and paid a $250 fine.
“I have been fighting these charges since 2015,” Reed told the Belleville News-Democrat in July 2019. “I am poor, but I used my life savings to fight,” she said. “I knew and I know I was innocent. I was charged for no reason.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 1:41 PM.
