St. Louis Regional Airport Board Chairman Faces New Drunken-Driving Charges
An Alton doctor and airport board chairman was preparing to enter alcohol treatment when police charged him with drunken driving for the second time in a month, his lawyer said Thursday.
Wood River Police arrested Charles Earnshaw Jr., 59, about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Another driver on Illinois 143 reported Earnshaw's GMC Sierra pickup truck weaving and sometimes veering into the oncoming lane or onto the shoulder of the road, police said.
When he was arrested, Earnshaw was three days away from going to Chicago for a three-day hospital evaluation, East Alton attorney Ben Allen said.
"He acknowledges that he has an alcohol problem. He knows his whole career depends on doing this right," said Allen, who said he spoke publicly with Earnshaw's permission.
Earnshaw was free on bond Thursday.
Allen attributed Earnshaw's problem to stress and 12- to 16-hour workdays.
"He's in an exhausted state most of the time," Allen said.
Earnshaw also is chairman of the board of St. Louis Regional Airport Authority in Bethalto.
Wood River Police ticketed Earnshaw for driving under the influence and illegal transportation of alcohol. Deputy Chief Otis Stewart refused to say whether the transportation charge is because Earnshaw had an open container of alcohol in his truck.
Bethalto Police said they found an empty bottle of vodka in Earnshaw's coat pocket when they charged him with DUI on Jan. 30. They also said they found a 9mm Glock pistol in Earnshaw's boot and a police badge. He claimed to be a Madison County sheriff's deputy, police said.
After the Bethalto arrest, county prosecutors charged Earnshaw with two felonies, impersonating a police officer and unlawful use of a weapon.
Additional charges in the Wood River arrest could be brought after the case is reviewed by prosecutors, Stewart said.
A 48-year-old Bethalto woman, whom police would not identify, was a passenger in Earnshaw's truck.
Earnshaw is scheduled to go this weekend to the University of Chicago's Rush Behavioral Health Center, which specializes in treatment of doctors and others in high-stress professions, Allen said.
"Whatever they recommend, he will do," Allen said. "Nobody ordered him to do it. He did it on his own."
If convicted of the felonies from the Bethalto arrest, Earnshaw's medical license could be placed on probation, suspended or revoked by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
A question of Earnshaw's eligibility to represent Alton on the airport board arose in January because he gave police a Bethalto address.
He remains on the board after assuring Alton Mayor Donald Sandidge his residence in Bethalto was temporary. Earnshaw on Wednesday gave Wood River Police an address in the 300 block of Third Street in Alton.
Contact Jayne Matthews at [email protected] or 345-7822, ext. 25.
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