Eric Paul Faes (Photo courtesy Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail)
A James City County man who drove his Volkswagen Jetta on a drunken journey through the Historic Triangle pleaded guilty Friday to a pair of offenses connected to the incident.
James City County Police arrested 29-year-old Eric Paul Faes on Aug. 17. Officers observed his Volkswagen Jetta traveling at a high rate of speed — 80 mph in 45 mph zone, according to Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joshua DeFord — at about 8 p.m. Aug. 17 on the 7300 block of Pocahontas Trail. The vehicle was moving in an erratic manner, weaving between cars until police stopped it at McLaws Circle.
During that traffic stop, officers found a 750 milliliter bottle of vodka, two-thirds of which had been drunk. DeFord said Faes told officers he had been taking “several medications.” Officers then used a stun gun on Faes as he struggled during their attempts to arrest him, according to Maj. Stephen Rubino of the James City County Police Department.
Less than an hour earlier, Faes had crashed into a Chevy Colorado pick-up truck waiting to turn at the intersection of Richmond and Ironbound roads in the City of Williamsburg. The husband of one of the two women in that truck was in a Toyota Prius directly ahead of the truck. He got out and checked on the women before going to Faes, who said he did not have a license. DeFord said Faes then drove away, almost striking the husband in the process.
Another witness told officers from the Williamsburg Police Department he saw Faes driving around 60 mph down Richmond Road — a 25 mph zone — toward Bypass Road, where he turned. The people in the pickup truck were not hospitalized, though one of the women mentioned neck pain.
After his arrest, officers took Faes to Riverside Doctors’ Hospital, where Rubino said Faes was “disorderly” and “verbally abusive” to police and hospital staff. Faes ignored commands from police and at one point spit in an officer’s face, DeFord said.
Faes pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated third offense, a felony. He pleaded no contest to assault on a law enforcement officer. His attorney, Pat Kelley, said Friday the no contest plea was because Faes had no recollection of the events that occurred at the hospital.
He was originally charged with the two charges to which he pleaded Friday: felony leaving the scene of an accident, resisting arrest, three counts of reckless driving, refusal of a blood or breath test, having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle and following too closely. The other charges were all dropped at his preliminary hearing in September.
During Friday’s hearing, Kelley submitted a psychiatric report on Faes that details what he described as “pretty significant schizophrenic issues.”
Faes was previously convicted in Williamsburg-James City County District Court of driving while intoxicated in August 2013 and August 2008. He will be sentenced at 10 a.m. March 21 in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court.
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