Barve gets fine, probation

Majority leader pleads guilty to drunken driving

District Court Judge Mary C. Reece placed Barve, 49, on one year’s unsupervised probation and fined him $1,000 with $800 suspended because it was a first-time offense.

He was arrested by Gaithersburg City Police at 11:43 p.m. Nov. 29, according to traffic citations. Barve 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 Rockville. Frederick County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen Swanson prosecuted at the request of Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy (D), 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 drinks and agreed to a series of sobriety tests. Eastman was in the courtroom, but never spoke during the 15-minute trial.

According to the police report, Barve failed field sobriety tests. He 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 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 said.

Simmons provided a letter from Barve’s instructor in a 26-week alcohol education program that he completed as part of his plea, as well as Barve’s résumé.

Reece also required Barve to complete an alcohol education program and attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving workshop.

‘‘You are to totally abstain from alcohol for the next year,” Reece said.

Barve, majority leader since 2003 and a delegate since January 1991, has supported stricter drunken driving laws in Maryland.