Sheriff's Deputy Enjoys Paid Vacation While Criminal DUI Case Against Him Proceeds

A Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputy is on paid leave after he was arrested for driving drunk last weekend.

Sgt. William “Terry” Abels, 44, is using accrued vacation time, and is not working with the Montgomery County Drug Task Force while the criminal case proceeds, Maj. Daryl Wilson said Monday.

Abels was charged with driving under the influence Saturday morning after he was pulled over by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper on North Dixie Drive near Little York Road in Butler Twp. He was reportedly driving left of center when he was pulled over. The trooper said there was a strong odor of alcohol from the vehicle, and Abels allegedly was lethargic and had bloodshot eyes. He refused to take a breathalyzer test, but failed two field sobriety tests, according to the highway patrol citation.

At the time of his arrest, Abels was driving a 2012 black Chevrolet issued to him by the county for use on the drug task force. He was hired by the sheriff’s office in 2005 and has been working on the task force for about two years, Wilson said.

Abels was identified as a sheriff’s office employee about midway through his arrest. However, he did not ask for special treatment, and was released to a sober driver and summonsed into court — a common occurrence for first-time offenders, said Lt. Mark Nichols, commander of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Dayton post.