Man offered bribe after DUI crash

By Joe Johnson

Marvin Frank Thompson III, 47, of Trailwood Drive in Watkinsville, was recently arrested in Athens for a DUI crash in which he offered the other driver $500 to not call the police.

The incident happened at about 10:15 p.m. August 14th on Atlanta Highway where Thompson’s pickup truck rear-ended another vehicle.

The responding officer said before arriving at the scene he was notified by dispatch that Thompson had tried to bribe the other driver.

Still behind the wheel of his truck, Thompson denied to the officer that he had consumed any alcohol despite the strong odor of alcohol on his breath and other indications of impairment,

He then admitted to having drank beer at Mell’s Place and also to offering money to the other driver, according to police.

He refused to undergo sobriety tests because “he stated it didn’t matter as I had already made up my mind due to the questions I was asking,” the officer stated in his report,

Thompson was arrested for DUI and following another vehicle too closely, and he repeatedly fell asleep on the ride to jail, and “I struggled to wake to check on his well-being,” the officer said.

He was later released from jail upon posting a $1,500 cash bond.