Porter commissioner candidate charged with DUI
By Christin Nance Lazerus cnance@post-trib.com October 28, 2012 11:56PM
Updated: November 30, 2012 6:25AM
Porter County Commissioner candidate Michael Heinold was arrested for driving while intoxicated early Saturday morning.
After he was stopped for driving with one headlight, Heinold, 45, was given a blood-alcohol level test which showed his level to be 0.13 percent, according to a police report. He was charged with two misdemeanor counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Heinold, a Republican, is facing Democratic Porter County Councilwoman Laura Shurr Blaney in the race to succeed Carole Knoblock in the South District. Heinold did not return a message left for comment.
Around 12:18 a.m. Saturday, an officer stopped Heinold’s 2007 GMC gray pickup while heading east on U.S. 30. According to the police report, the Porter County Sheriff’s Department officer detected a strong odor of alcohol on Heinold’s breath. He was chewing gum and the truck smelled like fresh cologne, which are common attempts to mask the smell of alcohol. Heinold’s speech was slurred and his eyes were watery and bloodshot.
The police report states that Heinold fumbled around for his license before he was able to pick it up. The officer asked Heinold if he consumed any alcohol, and Heinold replied that he had a few beers and a couple of Jim Beam and Cokes earlier in the evening at the Franklin House. He claimed he had stopped drinking alcohol two hours prior to operating his truck, the police report states.
Heinold failed two of the three field sobriety tests, according to the police report. He was taken to the Porter County Jail, and his truck was impounded.
Heinold is a sales director for FranklinCovey, and he is the co-owner of IDDEA Group LLC, an information technology company. His family formerly owned Heinold Feeds. He is the son of former state Sen. Vic Heinold.
