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Fort Wayne mayor pleads guilty to drunken-driving offense

October 11, 2022 GMT

This image taken Oct. 9, 2022 provided by the Allen County Sheriff’s Dept. shows Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry. The mayor of Indiana’s second-largest city had a blood alcohol reading nearly twice the state's limit for driving when he was arrested over the weekend for drunken driving, court records show. Henry was charged Monday, Oct. 10, 2022 with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.15% or more, both misdemeanors. (Allen County Sheriff’s Dept. via AP)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — The mayor of Indiana’s second-largest city pleaded guilty to a drunken-driving charge Monday, after a weekend crash that followed too much wine at a event.

Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry’s blood-alcohol level was 0.152 after he was arrested Saturday night, according to records. Indiana’s legal limit to drive is 0.08.

Police said Henry was driving and his wife and mother-in-law were passengers when his vehicle moved left of the center line and struck another car. The other driver was not injured.

The 70-year-old Democrat pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person. He will return to court on Nov. 7.

Henry declined to comment as he left the courthouse.

He had told police he drank “too many glasses of wine at a fundraiser” at a Fort Wayne theater, records show. The mayor was swaying, argumentative and had slurred speech, according to an arrest report.

After his release from jail Sunday, Henry read a statement to reporters apologizing “for the poor decision I made to get behind the wheel” after drinking at the event.

“Like every other resident of the city of Fort Wayne, I will be held accountable for those actions in future legal proceedings,” he said. “I respect the legal process. I will adhere to the legal process. And I will accept the consequences.”

Henry, first elected in 2007, has said he plans to run again in 2023. Fort Wayne, population 265,000, is 120 miles (190 kilometers) northeast of Indianapolis.