Lorain/Elyria, OH
VIDEO: Elyria fire official pleads no contest after DUI arrest
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AVON LAKE — An assistant Elyria fire chief was fined $1,000 and will have to take a two-day class on drinking and driving after pleading no contest to charges of physical control and reckless operation on Tuesday.
Brlas
Ron Brlas was arrested and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and running a red light shortly before 1 a.m. Aug. 19 by a state trooper after he failed to come to a complete stop before turning right at a red light at Detroit and Gulf roads, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol.
During the stop, the trooper noticed the odor of alcohol coming from Brlas. Brlas was arrested and was taken to the Sheffield Police Department, where he refused to take a Breathalyzer test.
Defense attorney Kenneth Lieux and Sheffield Prosecutor Chris Cook expressed satisfaction with the plea bargain in the case, which was accepted by Avon Lake Municipal Judge Darrel A. Bilancini.
“He wasn’t drunk,” Lieux said. “We looked at the case, talked to the officer and came to the conclusion it wasn’t the strongest case for an OVI — he had a couple beers hours earlier, and it was our position he wasn’t impaired to the point where he shouldn’t have been driving.”
Brlas, who is 50, only had one speeding ticket in his life, Lieux said.
Cook called the plea bargain “a fair and reasonable resolution,” saying Brlas will have four points on his license as a result of the conviction on the physical control charge, which is an alcohol-related offense. An OVI would have resulted in six points, he said.
Brlas also will lose his driver’s license for a year, although he was granted occupational driving privileges and also will be able to drive to medical appointments, Lieux said. While on duty, Brlas drives a command vehicle to and from accident and fire scenes, and he will be able to continue driving for work purposes.
Video of Ron Brlas’ traffic stop:
“It was a case that would have been a very difficult case to prove beyond a reasonable doubt to get an OVI conviction,” Cook said. “When I have a tough case like that, I’d rather negotiate it down and get an alcohol-related conviction, a one-year driver’s license suspension, a large fine, attendance at an alcohol class and four points on his license.”
If Brlas had been convicted of OVI, he would have had a six-month suspension of his license, Cook said.
Brlas’ conviction on the physical control charge means he was in physical control of his vehicle after drinking but it is not an admission he was impaired.
Cook said Brlas had a near-perfect driving record, which also played a part in the decision.
“In my opinion, that guy deserves the benefit of the doubt,” Cook said.
Brlas’ position with the fire department played no role in the plea bargain, he said.
“I couldn’t care less what he does for a living,” Cook said.
Brlas was unavailable for comment.
Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.
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Mr Brias should be the first fire fighter let go, when the voters of Elyria do not pass issue 10!!!
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If he Delivered Pizzas for a living he would be let go from his duties. This firemen should not be allowed to drive a city vehicle. That will have a impact on our insurance. He must be let go or put behind a desk if we have a position opened. There is noway that he should have or be driving one of the Cities vehicles. Remember they would not let John Hart drive when he received his DUI. We will have to wait and see how it plays out.
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Last year our tax dollars paid Ron Brlas $123,688.13. No one should vote for more taxes until yearly income levels of city employees get reduced.
The city of Elyria is way out of line asking the hard working citizens of Elyria for more takes when they pay drunks like this $123,000 a year.
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In case I mis-read this article I believe this is already played out. He’s been convicted of a physical control charge not an OVI. The prosecuter even said it would have been difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Evidently the arresting officer even agreed to this decision.
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“It was a case that would have been a very difficult case to prove beyond a reasonable doubt to get an OVI conviction,” Cook said. “When I have a tough case like that, I’d rather negotiate it down
and that is exactly why if you think your drunk, you DO NOT take the breathalyzer test. Good call on his part.
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He will cost the city more money with vehicle insurance. I know with a lot of private companies, you lose your driving priveledges after only one ticket - no matter what it is due to the companies insurance being rated higher.
Doesn’t matter though - us tax payers will gladly pay for it.
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“It was a case that would have been a very difficult case to prove beyond a reasonable doubt to get an OVI conviction,”
If that was truly the case Brlas attorney would of fought it and won the case.
but i must say that is the nicest Trooper i have ever seen, brlas should consider himself very lucky he didn’t get stopped by one of the Ohio Gestapo , things world of been a lot different
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Regardless , Mr Brias will be driving the response vehicle now to Avon, Walmrt etc to do his errands and say he is doing occupational duties like always!
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Watta you people want, blood? Get a grip!
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Just watched the video. The guy is polite and courteous to the cop. Weak stop too, 1:am at that intersection doesn,t come to a complete stop, cmon? How much traffic is there at rt 254 and Gulf rd. at that time? Also sounds like the cop exaggerates the guys condition to justify his weak arrest. There is a point where you can tell that just because the guy politely refuses breathlyzer the cop immediately get upset, his voice tone raises and says Then I,m charging you with DUI. As if because the guy refuses and not because his behavior is obviously drunk the cop charged him. Be a decent guy and give him a ride home in a case like this. He,d be a better cop too. Back in the day cops drove people home if they were not being obnoxious or violent unless the cop dealt with the same guy drunk too many times before. Now we got MADD and weak politicians.
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