Barve pleads guilty to DUI in Gaithersburg

Majority leader gets year’s probation

District Court Judge Mary C. Reece placed Barve on one year unsupervised probation and fined him $1,000 with $800 suspended because it was a first-time offense.

Barve, 49, of Gaithersburg was arrested by Gaithersburg City Police at 11:43 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 29, according to traffic citations. Barve (D-Dist. 17) of Gaithersburg was charged with driving while impaired and driving under the influence, which required the four-term delegate to stand trial.

He also was charged with failure to obey a traffic device and failure to drive right of center, each a $90 fine.

Reece, a Howard County District Court judge, presided over Barve’s hearing in Montgomery County District Court in Rockville. Frederick County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen Swanson prosecuted at the request of Montgomery Count State’s Attorney John McCarthy, to avoid any conflicts of interest. Del. Luiz R.S. Simmons (D-Dist. 17) of Rockville was Barve’s lawyer.

Swanson read a statement from Gaithersburg Police Officer Shane Eastman that he saw Barve exit through an entrance of a city-owned parking lot. Barve, whose car bore a state delegate license plate, crossed the center line several blocks later and was pulled over.

He told Eastman that he had had two alcoholic drinks and agreed to a series of sobriety tests. Eastman was in the courtroom but never spoke during the trial, which lasted less than 15 minutes.

According to a police incident report, Barve failed seven out of eight measures in a “walk-and-turn“ assessment and four out of four measures in a “one-leg stand“ assessment.

Barve agreed to a preliminary breath test in the field, which is not admissible in court. He scored a 0.10, according to the report. Barve refused a court-admissible Breathalyzer test when he was taken to the county police’s 6th District station in Gaithersburg, Swanson told the judge.

Simmons submitted as exhibits Barve’s pristine traffic and probation before judgment records and an “alcohol evaluation“ that identified Barve as a “social drinker.“

“There is no evidence that he has a recurring problem,“ Simmons told Reece.

Simmons provided a letter from Barve’s instructor in a 26-week alcohol education program that he recently completed as part of his plea that said Barve scored in the top 10 percent of all program applicants, as well as Barve’s resume.

In addition to the probation, Reece also required Barve to complete an alcohol education program and attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving impact panel.

“You are to totally abstain from alcohol for the next year,“ Reece said. She also warned him not to engage in any illegal substances.

Barve has served as majority leader of the General Assembly since 2003, and has been a member of the House of Delegates since January 1991. He is a member of the influential House Ways and Means Committee and chairs its subcommittee on revenues. He has voiced continual support for stricter drunken driving laws in Maryland.

He had no further comment after the trial.