Wrong Way Driver Released
Bristol County District Attorney’s Office
Thomas M. Quinn III
District Attorney
PRESS RELEASE
November 28, 2016
A district court judge recently refused to revoke the bail of an alleged repeat drunk driver who endangered the lives of dozens of motorists and police officials in multiple towns along the SouthCoast this past weekend.
At around 1:40 a.m. on November 19, State Police received multiple calls regarding a man driving his vehicle east bound on Route 195 in the west bound travel lanes. When police eventually caught up with the driver in Fairhaven, they made numerous attempts to get his attention by activating their sirens and emergency lights. But the driver, later identified as Jowaun Gamble, 23, of Wareham, continued to drive for at least 17 miles that authorities know of in the wrong direction before police used stop strips in the roadway to disable his vehicle in Marion.
During the 17 miles of known travel in the wrong direction on an interstate highway, numerous drivers had to evade being struck head on by Gamble’s Nissan Altima. Police who were attempting to get the defendant to stop driving and pull over noted that during the 17 miles they followed him, the defendant’s vehicle ranged in speeds between 50 and 100 miles per hour. Even after the stop strips resulted in four flat tires on his vehicle, the defendant continued to drive along in the wrong direction for a short period of time before the wheels of his vehicle began sparking and the car stopped.
After resisting arrest at the scene, the defendant registered a .22 (nearly three times the legal limit) on the breathalyzer test he took after being brought back to the state police barracks for booking and processing.
The defendant is charged with OUI, failure to stop for police, resisting arrest, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, speeding and driving the wrong way.
The defendant, at the time of his arrest, was out on bail from a recent OUI case from Brockton District Court.
During his arraignment in New Bedford District Court on Monday, November 21, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Sylvia motioned to have the defendant’s bail revoked and held without bail due to the fact that he was out of bail from the pending Brockton OUI case. Judge John Julian denied the request and released the defendant on just $1,500 bail.
“The allegations in this case are outrageous. The defendant was out on bail for an OUI out of Brockton District Court. He led police on a 17 mile chase on the wrong side of 195 allegedly in an highly intoxicated state. There is no way that this defendant should have been released from custody. The defendant’s bail should have been revoked on his pending drunken driving charge. This defendant posed an extraordinary risk of danger to motorists travelling in the right direction on 195,” District Attorney Quinn said. “There have been some terrible tragedies that have resulted in death involving people driving on the wrong side of the highway that were alcohol related. In this case, it was a miracle that no one was killed or seriously injured. Releasing defendants charged with dangerous criminal conduct is why many citizens do not have confidence that the criminal justice system is adequately protecting them.”
Contact:
Megan Borges
Media Assistant
774-627-1611 (office)
508-951-7861 (cell)