A Cayuga County legislator who was arrested following a domestic dispute last year is in trouble with the law again. First-term lawmaker Daniel P. Sincebaugh was charged Sunday night with driving while intoxicated after he crashed his pickup truck at about 9:15 p.m. into a utility pole at the corner of Dexter Avenue and Willard Street, Auburn Police Chief...
Daniel SincebaughA Cayuga County legislator who was arrested following a domestic dispute last year is in trouble with the law again.
First-term lawmaker Daniel P. Sincebaugh was charged Sunday night with driving while intoxicated after he crashed his pickup truck at about 9:15 p.m. into a utility pole at the corner of Dexter Avenue and Willard Street, Auburn Police Chief Gary Giannotta said.
Sincebaugh’s blood alcohol content was 0.24 percent, three times New York state’s legal limit of 0.08 percent, Giannotta said. Sincebaugh was arrested walking on Dexter Avenue shortly after the accident.
Also, Sincebaugh, 36, of 147 Garrow St. Ext., was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated for having a blood alcohol content higher than 0.18 percent, leaving the scene of an accident, having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle and failure to keep right, according to Giannotta.
Sincebaugh, who drives a city of Auburn garbage truck, is to appear Tuesday in city court. The Democratic lawmaker, who represents the city's 14th legislative district, did not return telephone messages.
With the arrest Sincebaugh risks the possibility of being resentenced for the domestic dispute incident, county District Attorney Jon Budelmann said,
In early 2009, Sincebaugh was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree criminal mischief and second-degree harassment after he got into a fracas with his wife that turned violent.
On Sept. 18, as part of a plea bargain, the charges were reduced to disorderly conduct, a violation, according to a court spokeswoman. At his sentencing, Sincebaugh received a conditional discharge that required him to stay out of trouble with the law for a year.
Sincebaugh now faces the possibility of being resentenced up to 15 days in jail and/or a $250 fine on the disorderly conduct charge because his DWI arrest happened before the end of the one-year conditional discharge period, Budelmann said.
Budelmann said he plans to excuse himself from the case and have a special prosecutor appointed to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest. Former Seneca County District Attorney Richard Swinehart prosecuted Sincebaugh on his 2009 arrest.
You can reach Scott Rapp at sapp@syracuse.com or 289-4839