On New Year's Eve, a St. Louis County judge was cited for having been driving while intoxicated. According to police and court records, Associate Circuit Judge Lawrence J. "Larry" Permuter drove while intoxicated and failed to comply with police during his arrest. A few days after his arrest, the judge was asked to leave a comment but he declined. When asked if he had a lawyer, the judge said that he had one but he was not going to speak with the media.
The Post-Dispatch was able to obtain police and crash reports from Missouri's open records law. According to the records, the incident started when a call was made at 12:39 pm. The call to the police was made by a passenger in a separate car when her companion noticed Permuter's vehicle cross more than one lane of traffic as it was heading westbound Highway 40 (Interstate 64). Later on, the vehicle collided with a concrete wall. This, however, did not stop the judge as he tried to return to the highway before colliding a second time with the wall. Based on the records, the incident happened near Big Bend Boulevard.
When asked why he hit the wall, the officer says that Permuter had admitted to hitting the wall with his vehicle. Unfortunately, he could not say the reason behind the incident. Further, information on the report shows that the airbag on Permuter's 2003 Ford Escort deployed. The judge, who had been drinking prior the accident, totaled his car and damaged its front, rear, and passenger side. Later, the car was towed away. Police also discovered an unloaded gun worth $550 inside the vehicle at the time of the accident. However, the judge did not violate any laws for carrying a weapon.
Thankfully, Permuter only suffered minor bruises and cuts from the accident. He declined medical attention. This led to his arrest at 3:22 pm before he was booked at 3:45 pm. At 6:39 pm, he was released to his wife. The judge was cited for driving while intoxicated and failure to comply with the reasonable direction of the police officer.
When asked if police could leave a comment on the arrest report, they declined and said that it was still an ongoing investigation. Further updates will be added as the report continues.
