Grand Old Police Blotter: Delaware Edition

Yesterday, I diaried Pennsylvania State Senator Bob Regola being charged with "three counts of perjury, allowing possession of a firearm by a minor, recklessly endangering another person and false swearing."  Today, we move to the Grand Old Police Blotter over to Delaware, where State Representative  John C. Atkins resigned today before the Delaware House debated a censuring Atkins.

More after the jump:

The affair began after he was released without charges in Ocean City on Oct. 29. He registered a 0.14 percent blood-alcohol content on a preliminary blood test and flashed his Delaware Legislature ID card when handing his license to the police officer.

After receiving a ride across the state line from a friend, Atkins then climbed back into his truck with his wife, Heather, and drove home to Millsboro, running a stop sign on his way.

Later that night, Millsboro police responded to the home after a domestic call to 911 ended with a hangup. They arrested Atkins for offensive touching during a dispute with his wife.

While at Millsboro police headquarters, Atkins tried to influence the police chief to intervene and quash the misdemeanor charge.

In December, Atkins agreed to a plea deal, getting a sentence of 30 days in prison, suspended in favor of two years of supervised probation and an agreement that he enter into "domestic violence/anger management counseling."

http://www.delmarvanow.com/...

So, we've got drunk driving, abusing legislative office, perjury, and domestic abuse.

There will be a special election in Mid-May to fill Atkins' seat.  The Delaware House has a narrow Republican majority (23 Republicans, 18 Democrats), and Atkins' legal problems and resignation may hurt the Republicans' chances of retaining that majority.

There is another Delaware House Special Election coming up, this one on April 14th in northern New Castle County.  The Democratic candidate is Byron Short, a small business owner and former aide to Sen. Carper.  This district is very close to Philadelphia and Delaware County, PA in case anyone wants to volunteer.

http://www.delawareonline.com/...