Ryan will serve time

Culpeper Town Councilman Bobby Ryan has withdrawn his appeal of a DUI conviction and is expected to begin serving a 30-day jail term Friday.

During a brief hearing Wednesday morning, Circuit Court Judge F. Ward Harkrader Jr. accepted the motion to withdraw and denied a motion that would have delayed until August Ryan’s reporting date to jail.

Harkrader then remanded the case back to General District Court. Defense attorney T.C. Lea then informed Special Prosecutor Amy Harper a few minutes later that Ryan was choosing not to pursue the case and would report to jail this weekend.

Ryan, 64, was sentenced to 90 days in jail with 60 days suspended and will serve the time on weekends, in accordance with a plea deal in May. He must also pay $816 in fines and costs, will lose his license for three years, must serve one year on probation and must complete substance abuse classes.

Charged with DUI second offense, a misdemeanor, Ryan appealed his own plea about a week later. He was set to have a jury trial Wednesday and did not speak during the hearing. Ryan could not be reached for comment after court.

The DUI charge stems from an incident Feb. 26 in the town of Culpeper. An off-duty Virginia State Police special agent stopped Ryan on Sunset Lane after observing his car repeatedly drift over the center line.

In a warrant, the officer wrote that when he approached Ryan, the councilman “had slurred speech (and) a strong odor of alcohol” and that Ryan was too intoxicated to “understand the questions I was asking him.”

A separate court document indicates that Ryan’s blood alcohol level was 0.17, more than twice the legal limit. Ryan was held in jail overnight and released on $2,000 bond.

Lea told Harkrader that Ryan entered the appeal and needed the additional time to deal with health problems that required surgery.

However Harper argued that Ryan’s health issues hadn’t been brought to the court’s attention until after the original plea agreement had been reached. She also argued that adequate time had been allowed for Ryan to get his personal affairs in order and that further extensions were unnecessary.

In 2004, Ryan was convicted of DUI. He paid a $250 fine, $166 in court costs and lost his license for a year in that case.

Harper, an assistant commonwealth attorney for Spotsylvania County, was assigned to represent the state. Special prosecutors are usually appointed in cases where there is an actual or perceived conflict of interest.

A Culpeper native and lifelong area resident, Ryan was elected to Town Council in May 2008. He also served as a councilman from 1994 to 2002, including a stint as vice mayor during the final two years of his term.