Ruston Police officers arrested two individuals March 9 for alcohol-related activities.
Around 2 a.m., an anonymous caller stated that a white Chevy pickup was doing doughnuts in the What-a-burger parking lot when the driver lost control and ran off the road. The vehicle was unoccupied when the officer arrived but had an alcoholic odor emitting from the vehicle. The registered owner was identified as Dusty McConathy, 23, of Jonesboro.
A passerby vehicle stopped and stated that he saw a white male get out of the vehicle and walk north toward Courtyard Marriott. Another officer arrived at the Courtyard Marriott and identified McConathy.
McConathy said his friend was driving but did not provide the name of his friend. Officers noticed a smell of alcohol on McConathy, which became stronger as he spoke. McConathy then stated his girlfriend was driving and was inside the hotel. Officers spoke with the girlfriend, who said she was laying down in the truck while at Whataburger and sat up once they got on the North Service Road. She said McConathy was driving and swerved and landed in the ditch.
Dispatch told the officers that McConathy was charged with a DWI in 2017. He voluntarily performed standard field sobriety tests, which revealed he was impaired. He was booked on his second DWI.
Later in the evening, around 7 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop for a driver, Semaja Pickett, 23, of Grambling, for running a red light. When officers pulled her over, she had slurred speech. Pickett participated in standard field sobriety tests, and it was determined she was under the influence of something that made her unfit to drive. She was transported to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center, where she was offered the chance to give a breath sample. Pickett refused to give a sample and said, “You should have given me a breath test before we got to the jail.” She was booked for driving under the influence, first offense.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
