And the Moron Award goes to...

Tipsy driver cited for DWI
By Amy Dalrymple
The Forum - 03/15/2005

An Argusville, N.D., man charged with drunken driving may have tipped off police to his condition.

His license plate reads "TIPSY."

Josiah Richard Johnson, 23, faces two charges of third-degree DWI after a Clay County deputy stopped him about 2 a.m. Friday in Moorhead.

Johnson, who bailed out of the Clay County Jail Monday, said he bought the personalized plate for a Jeep but kept it because he likes to party.

"It doesn t mean I drink and drive," he said. "It just means I have a good time."

That night, however, Johnson was at Coach s Sports Pub in Moorhead and his designated driver didn t stay sober, Johnson said.

Because he had to work in the morning, Johnson said he left the bar and drove toward his friend s Fargo apartment, where he was staying.

Johnson said he thought he was sober enough to drive, but Deputy Mark Empting thought otherwise.

Court records say:

As Johnson drove south on Eighth Street, his Chevy Silverado pickup crossed the center line and later followed a vehicle too closely.

After stopping Johnson, Empting noticed the man s eyes were bloodshot and watery and his speech was slurred.

He had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.20 percent, twice the state s legal limit.

Johnson wonders if the deputy stopped him because of his license plate.

"I kind of felt like I was being harassed," he said.

Empting could not be reached Monday. Lt. Jerome Thorsen said he could not comment on an open case.

Originally, Johnson said he got the personalized plate about 11/2 years ago for his Jeep because it described how the vehicle rode.

When he got a Chevy Silverado pickup, he kept tipsy on his plate as a joke because he likes to have a good time, he said.

Johnson pleaded guilty in Cass County District Court to a misdemeanor charge of driving a snowmobile under the influence on Dec. 26, court records say.

He ll appear in court for the Clay County charges on March 22. Johnson said he will never drink and drive again.

"I feel really stupid," he said. "I wish I never did it."