Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: Brent Kempton was arrested for DUI and then booked into jail on a probation violation after allegedly admitting to smoking marijuana in the parking lot of the probation department prior to speeding on U.S. Highway 70.
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – A man with a medical marijuana card was arrested for DUI on Monday, April 22, after allegedly smoking cannabis in the parking lot of the Graham County Probation Department before speeding down U.S. Highway 70.
According to a Safford Police report, a vehicle driven by Brent Foutz Kempton Jr., 44, was westbound on U.S. Highway 70 at 49 mph in a 35-mph zone at about 2:14 p.m.
An officer initiated a traffic stop and Kempton advised he had cannabis in the car but that he was a medical marijuana card holder. The officer then asked when the last time Kempton had used marijuana and Kempton allegedly advised he had smoked some in the parking lot of the Graham County Probation Department after he had checked in with his probation officer during his lunch break.
Kempton is on probation stemming from a 2017 conviction for theft.
After failing a field sobriety test, the officer informed Kempton that in the officer’s opinion Kempton was too impaired to drive and placed him under arrest for DUI. The officer allowed Kempton to call a family member to pick up his vehicle, and then took him to the Safford Police Department for a blood draw. The blood was packaged in a test kit for transportation to an Arizona Department of Public Safety lab for testing.
Kempton was then given a ride to his destination in Thatcher and released. However, once the Graham County Probation Department learned of the incident, a probation officer picked up Kempton and booked him into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility on a probation violation. A petition to revoke his probation was then filed the next day.
