Drunk Priest Found With Guns, Drugs

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An Alaska priest was in court last Friday, facing charges of driving under the influence and misdemeanor drugs and weapons offenses, police said.

Fairbanks priest Father Sean P. Thomson, 52, was pulled over March 24 after trooper Christopher Bitz said he saw the priest weaving his pickup truck along the highway and going 79 mph in a 65 mph zone, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.

When Bitz pulled Thomson over, the trooper said he noticed the priest seemed disoriented. When he asked for Thomson’s vehicle registration, he said Thomson instead produced a receipt.

The trooper asked the priest if he had any weapons on him. Thomson said he had a .357 in the back seat, but allegedly didn’t tell the officer that he also had a 9mm pistolin his back pocket, according to the Sky Valley Chronicle.

The priest also allegedly neglected to tell the trooper he had a small bag of marijuana in his sweatshirt.

Thomson’s breath-alcohol content was registered at 0.247, three times more than the legal limit. After he was taken to the station, Thomson allegedly refused to take another, more accurate breathalyzer, because “[he] said he was drunk and did not feel the test was necessary,” Bitz said in his report.

Following the arrest, the Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks placed the priest on administrative leave, according to the New York Daily News.

The priest pleaded not guilty at his initial court appearance, and was released on $5,000 bail.