Lucas exits probation early after DUI

Seymour State Representative Jim Lucas is set to exit probation ahead of schedule.

Lucas  pleaded guilty in June to drunk driving charges. Early in the morning on May 31st, he drove his truck off the side of an entrance ramp to Interstate 65 and down the steep hill from State Road 11, hit a guardrail, then drove the wrong way back up the ramp and on into Seymour with flattened tires and heavy front end damage to his vehicle.

In July, Lucas received a 60-day jail sentence for operating while intoxicated and a 180-day sentence for leaving the scene of an accident, both of which were suspended.

Instead of jail time, he was placed on 365 days of probation and ordered to pay $3,929.62 in restitution fees to the Indiana Department of Transportation. The motion for the completion of his probation was filed in Jackson Superior Court on Dec. 11.

According to the state’s toxicology report, Lucas had 14 nanograms of THC per millimeter of blood, exceeding the typical impairment limit of 5 nanograms per millimeter of blood. Lucas has been a strong advocate for the legalizing of marijuana in Indiana.

Lucas’s district includes part of southern Bartholomew County as well as Jackson, Scott and Washington counties.

Network Indiana contributed to this report.