Chief calls for vehicle impoundment Arrest of habitual offender prompts suggestion of tougher OUI sanctions

The latest arrest of a driver who has an extensive record of drunken driving and license suspensions in Maine underscores the need for a law to impound vehicles of dangerous drivers, Portland Police Chief Michael Chitwood said.

Chitwood said he has sent a proposal to the Portland city manager and council that would allow police to impound a vehicle for 30 days when its driver is arrested or involved in an accident while driving under suspension.

If the city does not enact the proposal, Chitwood will take it to the Legislature, he said Tuesday.

The chief took his proposal to city officials on Monday, the same day police arrested Randal Horr after a resident called police on a cellular telephone to report he was driving erratically.

Horr, 41, who gave his address as Windham, has been convicted of drunken driving nine times during the past 10 years and has 37 license suspensions, state motor vehicle officials confirmed Tuesday.

Horr remained in Cumberland County Jail in lieu of bail on Tuesday afternoon after he was arraigned in Portland District Court on charges of being a habitual offender and drunken driving, both felony offenses. Bail was set at $100,000 property or $25,000 cash, with conditions.

Chitwood said Horr was arrested after driving a sister’s car without her consent.

“This guy continually endangers the public. Thank God nobody was hurt last night,” Chitwood said Tuesday.

An Associated Press review of Maine driving records last year turned up at least a dozen people who have been convicted of drunken driving at least six times within the previous decade, and were caught driving drunk again even after losing their licenses.

One of the longest driving rap sheets belonged to Randal Horr, whose driving privileges are under suspension until Dec. 21, 2005. Convictions for his latest offenses would extend the suspension another year, state officials said.

In Portland alone, 730 people were arrested last year for driving with suspended licenses. Police statistics also show that many of them have lost their driving privileges for driving drunk in the first place.

More than 600 people were arrested in Portland for drunken driving last year, Chitwood said.

His proposal to impound cars, called Serious Traffic Offender Program, or STOP, is patterned after a similar law in California. Police would have the authority to impound a vehicle for 30 days whether the offending driver owns it or not.

The owner would have to pay towing and storage fees, the chief said.