Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III announced that 38 year-old Ronald J. Foose of 705 Mt. Vernon Road, Buffalo has been found guilty as charged of Feloniously Driving While Intoxicated after a one day jury trial before Hon. Christopher J. Burns.  This was the highest count of the indictment and the highest charge for which the defendant could have been convicted.

On May 29, 2013, officers responded to a 911 call of a suspected drunk driver who had struck a parked car on Trowbridge Avenue in the City of Buffalo.  Responding officers learned that Foose had not only struck the parked car, but also had nearly struck a house. 

Buffalo Police Officers Caitlin Meegan-Fichtlee and Amanda Rivers encountered Foose and immediately noticed obvious signs of intoxication, including the strong odor of alcohol and slurred speech. Foose initially admitted he had been drinking alcohol and that he had been driving, but then retracted those statements, became belligerent, and shouted profanities at the officers. Foose also refused to perform any field sobriety tests and to give a breath sample to determine his alcohol level. 

No stranger to the criminal justice system, Foose has prior convictions for Driving While Ability Impaired (1996), Driving While Under the Influence of Drugs (1997), and Driving While Intoxicated (2004).

Foose was remanded into custody pending sentencing on July 8, 2014 and faces a maximum prison term of 4 years. 

The case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Robin J. Deubler, who is assigned to DA Sedita’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau.