Off-duty trooper charged with DWI, resigns
An off-duty Highway Patrol trooper was arrested Thursday on charges of drunken driving and felony hit-and-run.
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Master Trooper Timothy Scott Stiwinter was arrested at about 11:45 p.m. Thursday following a collision at the intersection of Airport Road and Fanning Bridge Road in Buncombe County.
Investigators said Stiwinter was stopped by an Asheville police officer a couple of hours after the wreck. An officer said she detected the smell of alcohol on Stiwinter's breath and that he was unsteady. He refused to take a field sobriety test or a breath-alcohol test.
A search warrant has been filed to test Stiwinter's blood. It was unclear if he has an attorney.
Stiwinter had been with the Highway Patrol since 1999 and was assigned to the Troop G office in Hendersonville.
His resignation is the latest in a series of problems experienced by the Highway Patrol. Other troopers have been fired or resigned in the past couple of years for offenses including drunken driving, having sex on duty, profiling young women for traffic stops and animal abuse.
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Information from: The Asheville Citizen-Times
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