Winfield Police have arrested a man that they said had too much to drink and drove a car into doors at three downtown businesses late Wednesday, according to Police Chief Jerry DeVore.
Charles Williams II, 42, Winfield, was arrested and faces charges of driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to report an accident, driving while on a suspended license, two counts of felony criminal damage to property, domestic violence battery and criminal damage domestic violence.
An investigation into the incident began around 11 p.m. when police received reports of an alarm sounding at Ruppelius Jewelers in the 800 block of Main. Officers arrived to find the store’s front door was shattered and it appeared it had been rammed by a vehicle.
Just before the alarm was tripped, officers had been in the area and observed a white Chevy Lumina in the vicinity. DeVore said Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Bob LeVelle had seen the vehicle prior to the Ruppelius incident and had run the tag because the driver appeared to be behaving in a suspicious manner.
Using the tag number and evidence from the scene, the Lumina was found parked at a residence in the 300 block of E. 14th. Police located Williams and learned he had subsequently been in an altercation with a woman at the home.
Photos were taken of the car and at that point officers determined some of the damage had to have come from collisions other than the Ruppelius incident. Further searching led to two other businesses – the NAPA auto parts store on W. 8th and a Bob Warner building in the 700 block of Main – that had been damaged by ramming from a vehicle, DeVore said.
Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the accident, he said.
