A Californian man is preparing to go to court after being charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence of a drug for drinking caffeine.
The case has been described as unheard of by defense attorney Stacey Barrett who is representing the man, Joseph Schwab.
On August 5 2015, Schwab was charged with the DUI when driving home from work and after being pulled over by an agent from the California department of alcoholic beverage control. According to the agent, Schwab cut her off and “was driving erratically”, reports The Guardian.
In a breathalyzer test, Schwab had a 0.00 per cent blood alcohol level. A toxicology report then confirmed that Schwab didn’t have cocaine, opiates, THC, carisprodol, zolpidem, oxycodone, MDMA or benzodiazepines in his blood. Nevertheless, he is preparing to head to court on January 11.
Speaking of the decision to pursue the matter, chief deputy district attorney said the charge for driving under the influence was “not bad upon the presence of caffeine in his system”.
According to Schwab’s attorney, “I have not been provided with any evidence to support a theory of prosecution for a substance other than caffeine at this time.
“Nor I have received any statements, reports, etc documenting any ongoing investigation since the [toxicology report] dated 18 November 2015.”
Consequently, Barrett has filed a motion for the case to be dismissed before it goes to trial.