EVANSVILLE — A local defense attorney admitted he'd been drinking Friday night before he crashed his SUV into a marked sheriff's office cruiser outside a Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch, deputies said.
Glenn Grampp, 76, was booked into the Vanderburgh County jail at 10:14 p.m. Friday and later released on a $1,000 bond, according to public court records.
Grampp, who pleaded guilty to DUI-related offenses in 2011 and 2020, was preliminarily charged with two Level 6 felonies: operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more with a prior conviction and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated with endangerment.
An affidavit of probable cause filed by Sgt. Korey Chapman of the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office sheds light on what allegedly happened.
Just after 8:35 p.m. Friday, a VCSO deputy informed central dispatch that he was involved in an accident at 4209 N. U.S. 41 in Evansville: a Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch. According to the affidavit, the deputy said a Toyota FJ Cruiser driven by Grampp struck his marked cruiser just as he placed his vehicle in drive and began to exit the BMV parking lot.
"(The deputy) advised that he checked on Grampp and he was not injured, however (the deputy) observed signs of Grampp being impaired," Chapman wrote in the affidavit. "Grampp told the deputy that he had consumed an alcoholic beverage prior to the accident."
The deputy reportedly said Grampp "stumbled" out of the SUV, slurred his speech and smelt of alcohol.
Chapman, who wrote that he traveled to the scene of the crash, said Grampp appeared to be "staggering" as he walked across the parking lot.
"Grampp told me that he consumed an alcoholic beverage before the accident, however, he was still good enough to drive," Chapman wrote.
Due to knee injuries and poor eyesight, deputies did not have Grampp perform standard field sobriety tests, such as the "walk-and-turn test" or the "one leg stand up." But, according to Chapman, Grampp's blood-alcohol level as measured by a portable breathalyzer was 0.25.
A later chemical test allegedly returned a result of 0.268, more than three times the legal limit in Indiana.
Friday's incident marks the second time Grampp is alleged to have struck a law enforcement vehicle while driving drunk: In 2011, Grampp was arrested after he struck a sheriff's vehicle before hitting a telephone pole, for which he later pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor.
In 2020, Grampp pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated a second time after an Evansville Police Department officer caught Grampp driving with a blood alcohol concentration between 0.188 and 0.203, results attributed to a preliminary breath test and a certified chemical test, respectively.
Court records state that Grampp has retained private legal counsel and that a special prosecutor would be appointed to represent the state. The Vanderburgh County Circuit Court ordered that Grampp not operate a vehicle or drink alcohol.
As of Monday afternoon, the Indiana Roll of Attorneys listed Grampp as "active and in good standing."
Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com.
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