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Beavercreek state representative faces OVI allegation

Meredith Moss/submitted State Rep. Jarrod Martin.

State Rep. Martin to be arraigned on child endangerment, OVI charges

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By Laura A. Bischoff, Staff Writer Updated 10:30 PM Monday, July 25, 2011

State Rep. Jarrod Martin was given an operating a vehicle while intoxicated citation while in Jackson County on Friday, a situation his political mentor said happened because Martin didn’t want to be shown shirtless and sweaty on cruiser-camera video.

“I regret the incident regarding an OVI allegation that occurred in Jackson County on Friday, July 22. I take this matter very seriously and I look forward to the opportunity to vindicate myself in court,” Martin (R-Bevercreek) said in a written statement. ”

Martin, 32, a former Beavercreek City Councilman, is in his second term in the Ohio House. The Republican didn’t respond to phone messages left seeking comment.

Ohio Highway Patrol spokeswoman Lt. Anne Ralston said Martin was stopped on U.S. 35 between the city of Jackson and the Ross County line at 10:55 p.m. Friday for going left of center and hauling a trailer without tail lights.

Martin had two kids and two adults as his passengers, she said.

On the side of the roadway, Martin refused to submit to field sobriety tests and a “chemical” test of his blood, breath or urine, Ralston said. As a result, he will automatically lose his driver’s license for one year. He was released at the scene with one of the adult passengers behind the wheel.

“The cop says he wants to give him a sobriety test. (Martin) said, 'I’m not taking any test. I’ve not done anything,’” said Longtime Greene County Republican John Broughton.

Martin did not want to be seen on video recorded by cruiser’s dashboard camera system shirtless and dirty from working on the family’s cabin, Broughton said.

Broughton said Martin admitted to drinking “a couple beers” much earlier that day. “No alcohol is involved in this, at all,” Broughton said.

Video of the stop is expected to be released by Friday, Ralston said.

House Republican caucus spokesman Mike Dittoe said the speaker had no comment on the matter, which Martin voluntarily brought forward.

This is the third personal issue involving Republican lawmakers this year.

State Rep. Robert Mecklenborg, R-Cincinnati, resigned under pressure after failing to disclose his arrest in Indiana on a drunken driving charge. And on July 11, the wife of state Sen. Kris Jordan, R-Powell, called 9-1-1 in Delaware County, alleging that he was pushing her around and threatening her. No one was arrested in that incident,

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