Billy Gillispie: behind the bar

UK basketball coach Billy Gillispie was arrested at 2:45 a.m. this morning in Anderson County on U.S. 127 and charged with DUI.

D.U.I. is the short form of driving under the influence, which is common known as “drunk driving.”

It is usually refers to operating a motor vehicle while one’s blood alcohol content is above the legal limit set by statute, which supposedly is the level at which a person cannot drive safely.

State statutes vary as to what that level is, but it ranges from .08 to .10. Driving on private property such as a parking lot is no defense, but sitting in a non-moving vehicle without the ignition on probably is (sometimes resulting in a charge of “drunk in and about a vehicle”). This is a misdemeanor and is variously referred to as DUI, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, or a “deuce”.

The NBC affiliate has video of Billy Gillispie being led handcuffed into a van. He and 42-year-old Charles O’Connor are being held in the Franklin County jail, according to the station.

According to the report, Gillispie told police  he had been playing golf. It appears that someone called 911 saying a Mercedes with Texas plates was swerving on U.S. 127 in Anderson County.

This is Billy Gillispie’s third arrest for suspicion of  drunk driving (DUI).