ANDERSON — An Anderson city councilman was arrested for alleged drunken driving Saturday night, and he was discovered to have a loaded handgun in his possession after he was placed in a holding cell with another inmate.

Anderson police arrested Ollie H. Dixon Sr., 60, at about 10:15 p.m. on suspicion of misdemeanor drunken driving near the intersection of Seventh Street and Alhambra Drive.

A portable breath test determined Dixon’s blood-alcohol content was 0.20 percent, more than double the legal limit of 0.08 percent to drive in Indiana. He refused to take an official blood-alcohol test, however.

“I wasn’t really intoxicated,” Dixon, D-District 4, said Sunday evening. “If a person is suspected (of driving while intoxicated) they normally take them into custody. I don’t feel I was intoxicated. To me, the officer was just doing his job. I don’t have a problem.”

According to a police report:

Police were dispatched to Scatterfield Road, near the White River, at about 10:15 p.m. after a motorist spotted a sport-utility vehicle traveling northbound in a southbound lane.

Officers stopped Dixon near Seventh and Alhambra and quickly suspected he was intoxicated after speaking to him. He was patted down for weapons and taken to the police department. He failed several sobriety tests and a portable breath test determined his blood-alcohol was 0.20 percent. He was then handcuffed, checked for weapons again, and taken to the jail.

Guards checked him for weapons again when he arrived at the jail, and he was placed in a detoxification cell with another inmate. At about 11:30 p.m. the inmate indicated to guards that Dixon had a handgun. The gun was removed without incident.

He was not formally booked into jail until approximately 4:30 a.m. Sunday.

Madison County Sheriff Ron Richardson said Sunday he has spoken with jail staff, but had not yet reviewed reports of the gun discovery. He could not say what type of firearm it was. Anderson police took custody of the weapon. Police officials also could not identify the firearm on Sunday.

It wasn’t clear late Sunday how Dixon concealed the weapon or how it went undiscovered after three “pat-down” searches. The sheriff said it is not department policy to conduct a strip search of those arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.

Richardson said if the handgun was properly licensed, Dixon won’t face charges related to the firearm.

Dixon said he is licensed to carry the weapon, but couldn’t recall what gun he had.

“I think it was either a .38 (caliber) or .357,” Dixon said in a brief conversation with The Herald Bulletin before declining further comment. “I don’t remember.”

Dixon said he was at Hoosier Park Racing and Casino, 4500 Dan Patch Circle, and drank three beers in about 30 minutes. Dixon acknowledged that consuming that amount of alcohol in that time period would cause some people to become intoxicated, but he doesn’t feel he was.

“It probably would,” Dixon said. “But I don’t think so. It could have been 45 minutes. But clearly, I should have set still.”

At about 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Madison Superior Court 5 Judge Thomas Clem contacted jail officials and ordered Dixon to be released on his own recognizance as soon as his detoxification time was finished. He was released at about 3:30 p.m.

Clem said Sunday that Dixon’s family members called him at about 1 a.m. and asked him to release Dixon immediately. The judge said the family was concerned for Dixon’s safety behind bars because he is a public figure.

“I didn’t feel like (safety) was an issue and I didn’t feel it was appropriate to release him before his detox time,” Clem said.

“The purpose of bond is to assure appearance (in court),” the judge continued. “Ollie Dixon has lived here all his life. He’s a public official. He’s not a flight risk. It’s very common (to release arrested individuals on their own recognizance). Don’t presuppose for a second that there’s anything unusual. It would have been unusual if I had ordered him released before his detox.”

Dixon has not been formally charged. He said he has not yet hired an attorney. An initial court appearance in Anderson City Court has not been set.

Dixon defeated Republican Michelle Weatherspoon in a landslide vote during the November 2007 city council election. A former city council president, he has served on the board for nearly 20 years.



Contact Shawn McGrath: 640-4883, shawn.mcgrath@heraldbulletin.com