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William Everett Alemar was 'highly intoxicated,' prosecutor says
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - A prosecutor says a Virginia National Guard member was "highly intoxicated," more than double the legal limit for drivers, when police arrested him for running near two Martinsburg schools in desert camouflage and toting an AR-15 training rifle.
William Everett Alemar's blood-alcohol content was more than 0.20 percent, Berkeley County Prosecutor Pamela Games-Neely said Thursday. West Virginia's threshold for drivers is 0.08 percent.
Games-Neely also said the terrorism charge filed against Alemar is the right one for the circumstances.
Her office charged Alemar with committing a terrorist act after police found him Monday carrying two knives and several unloaded ammunition clips, and wearing a bulletproof vest.
"That is not to say that there are not other issues going on with this young man," Games-Neely told The Journal, adding that her office is working with several agencies to gather information.
Alemar was being held on $50,000 bond at the Eastern Regional Jail. He has a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 29 in Berkeley County Magistrate Court.
Defense attorney Kevin Mills said earlier this week his team was evaluating whether Alemar may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Mills didn't immediately return a message about his client Thursday.
"The reality of the thing is you have a veteran who has returned behaving in this manner which causes the public to be very upset," Games-Neely said, "so we have to figure out what this behavior is and why this occurred at this level."
Alemar is charged with violating a state law covering acts that are likely to result in serious bodily injury or intended to intimidate or coerce the civilian population.
If convicted, he faces as many as three years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines.
Alemar could get another two to 10 years if convicted of a related charge, wearing body armor while committing a felony offense.
Essentially, Games-Neely said, his behavior constituted a threat - particularly coming shortly after a deadly shooting in a Colorado movie theater.
"If you saw this young man walking into a movie theater after Aurora," she said, "what do you think?"
Police discovered after they arrested Alemar that the gun he was carrying fires pellets, not live rounds.
Stephen Alemar has said his son graduated from Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, Va., and joined the National Guard after he failed to get into the U.S. Naval Academy. He returned in December from a tour of duty in Iraq.
William Everett Alemar was 'highly intoxicated,' prosecutor says
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - A prosecutor says a Virginia National Guard member was "highly intoxicated," more than double the legal limit for drivers, when police arrested him for running near two Martinsburg schools in desert camouflage and toting an AR-15 training rifle.
William Everett Alemar's blood-alcohol content was more than 0.20 percent, Berkeley County Prosecutor Pamela Games-Neely said Thursday. West Virginia's threshold for drivers is 0.08 percent.
Games-Neely also said the terrorism charge filed against Alemar is the right one for the circumstances.
Her office charged Alemar with committing a terrorist act after police found him Monday carrying two knives and several unloaded ammunition clips, and wearing a bulletproof vest.
"That is not to say that there are not other issues going on with this young man," Games-Neely told The Journal, adding that her office is working with several agencies to gather information.
Alemar was being held on $50,000 bond at the Eastern Regional Jail. He has a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 29 in Berkeley County Magistrate Court.
Defense attorney Kevin Mills said earlier this week his team was evaluating whether Alemar may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Mills didn't immediately return a message about his client Thursday.
"The reality of the thing is you have a veteran who has returned behaving in this manner which causes the public to be very upset," Games-Neely said, "so we have to figure out what this behavior is and why this occurred at this level."
Alemar is charged with violating a state law covering acts that are likely to result in serious bodily injury or intended to intimidate or coerce the civilian population.
If convicted, he faces as many as three years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines.
Alemar could get another two to 10 years if convicted of a related charge, wearing body armor while committing a felony offense.
Essentially, Games-Neely said, his behavior constituted a threat - particularly coming shortly after a deadly shooting in a Colorado movie theater.
"If you saw this young man walking into a movie theater after Aurora," she said, "what do you think?"
Police discovered after they arrested Alemar that the gun he was carrying fires pellets, not live rounds.
Stephen Alemar has said his son graduated from Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, Va., and joined the National Guard after he failed to get into the U.S. Naval Academy. He returned in December from a tour of duty in Iraq.