Mayor quotes Jay-Z after not guilty DUI verdict

GREENWOOD, S.C. — A South Carolina mayor quoted rapper Jay-Z on Twitter after he was found not guilty of driving under the influence.

“In the words of Jay Z, ‘not guilty, y’all got to feel me,’” Greenwood Mayor Wellborn Adams tweeted Thursday after the jury found him not guilty after deliberating for five minutes.

Adams was arrested at a checkpoint just yards from his home in September 2015 after his wife’s 40th birthday.

State trooper Derek Johnson tried to present as evidence a breath test that showed Adams’ blood-alcohol level was 0.09 per cent — over the legal limit of 0.08 per cent where juries may presume a driver is legally drunk, The Index-Journal of Greenwood reported.

But a judge agreed with an argument from Adams’ lawyer Billy Nicholson III that the trooper did not give Adams enough time to fully read the form consenting to the test.

Nicholson told the jury Adams failed sobriety tests such as standing on one leg because he tore his Achilles tendon three years ago.

The defence lawyer called Adams’ wife to the stand, who said he trips regularly while jogging.

“I don’t want to make fun of him,” Ericka Adams said, laughing. “He’s a genius, but he is clumsy.”

Johnson told jurors in his closing remarks that he had no idea who Adams was and was applying the law fairly.

But Nicholson said Johnson’s suspicions weren’t enough evidence to find Adams was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

“What he has in the way of evidence is just to create some kind of suspicion,” Nicholson said. “I don’t fault this trooper for anything he did that night.”

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Information from: The Index-Journal, http://www.indexjournal.com

The Associated Press