Indiana State Senator's OWI charges delayed due to legislative immunity
The Indiana Constitution states that legislators are 'privileged from arrest' during the legislative session except for treason, felony or breach of the peace. The 2025 legislative session started Jan. 8 and ended April 24, and Bohacek was arrested Jan. 24.
Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, faces misdemeanor charges of operating while intoxicated and two additional misdemeanor OWI charges for a blood alcohol content above 0.15 and endangerment, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Porter County Prosecutor Gary Germann was appointed as the special prosecutor in the case. In an email Monday, Germann said the charges have not yet been approved by a judge, but that will likely occur in the next couple of days. He declined to comment further citing the pending litigation.
A witness told police officers that Bohacek drank from 'an open container' and stumbled out of his vehicle at Panda Express in Michigan City around 3:30 p.m. Jan. 24, according to the affidavit.
When officers arrived, they observed Bohacek with food on his clothes, poor balance and quiet, slow speech. Officers also reported that Bohacek had red, watery and bloodshot eyes and that he staggered from his black Dodge Charger, according to the affidavit.
A blood test performed at about 4:30 p.m. Jan. 24 found that Bohacek's blood alcohol content was 0.283, according to the affidavit.
Bohacek told police officers he took his prescription Tramadol before driving, according to the affidavit. Tramadol is a synthetic opioid used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain, including pain after surgery, according to the Mayo Clinic.
When reached by the Post-Tribune Tuesday, Bohacek expressed surprise that he could be charged months after the fact, but declined to comment further.
State Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident in June 2023.
Former State Rep. Daniel Forestal, D-Indianapolis, faced charges before his resignation in 2020 for drunken driving. He had also faced charges for battery of a public safety official, resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct and accusations of using his political campaign's bank account for personal use, like online gambling, in separate events beginning in 2019.
Forestal, who was open about his mental health struggles, died in 2021. Responding to a wellness check at an Indianapolis hotel, police found Forestal, 38, deceased.
akukulka@chicagotribune.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
11 hours ago
- Axios
Trump's authoritarian streak
A five-alarm fire tore through the economic establishment Friday after President Trump ousted the government's top labor statistician, accusing her — without evidence — of "rigging" a weak jobs report. Why it matters: It's just one glaring example from a week that bore many authoritarian hallmarks — purging dissenters, rewriting history, criminalizing opposition and demanding total institutional loyalty. The big picture: The overwhelming, all-consuming nature of Trump-driven news cycles makes it difficult to discern partisan hysteria from true democratic backsliding. But apply any of these five storylines from the past week to a foreign leader — or even a past U.S. president — and it reads like an authoritarian playbook. 1. Trump fired Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Erika McEntarfer, a 20-year government veteran, after BLS announced massive downward revisions for job growth in May and June. "We're doing so well. I believe the numbers were phony. ... So you know what I did: I fired her," Trump told reporters, without explaining why he believed past jobs reports were credible when they were positive. William Beach, who led the BLS during Trump's first term, blasted the firing as "totally groundless" and warned of a "dangerous precedent" of politicized economic data. 2. Eager to shift scrutiny from his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Trump has demanded his Justice Department prosecute former President Obama for "treason" over the 2016 Russia investigation. Top Trump aides are engaged in an all-out effort to rewrite the history of "Russiagate" and exact revenge on Obama-era intelligence officials, including through criminal referrals. 3. In his crackdown on liberal power centers, Trump has extracted more than $1.2 billion in settlements from 13 of the most elite players in academia, law, media and tech, as Axios reported this week. The Trump administration is reportedly eyeing up to $500 million from Harvard and $100 million from Cornell, paving the way for a cascade of other universities to follow suit. 4. Dozens of Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador's notorious CECOT megaprison say they were beaten, sexually assaulted and denied access to lawyers and medical care, according to a Post investigation. Many of the men had no criminal records and had entered the U.S. legally — some with refugee status or temporary protected status, according to the Post. Human rights experts say the reported abuse may violate international law, and raise serious questions about the Trump administration's responsibility for alleged torture on foreign soil. 5. Trump's months-long campaign to oust Fed Chair Jay Powell, or at least pressure him to cut interest rates, is still lingering. Trump's stream of insults, which escalated after the Fed held rates steady this week, has prompted comparisons to Turkey's disastrous experiment with bringing its central bank under political control. What they're saying:" President Trump is holding the federal government and elite institutions accountable for their political games, longstanding corruption, and terrible incompetence," White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement. With regard to CECOT, a White House official told Axios: "These are criminal terrorist illegal immigrants and the American people are safer with them as far away as possible. President Trump is putting the safety of Americans first." Between the lines: Trump has little reason to curtail his maximalist impulses. Vast swaths of society are falling in line: The Smithsonian, for example, quietly removed references to Trump's two impeachments from its presidential exhibit last month, the Washington Post reported. The museum says the exhibit was always meant to be temporary, but its content review comes after Trump signed an executive order in March ordering the removal of "improper ideology" from Smithsonian properties. Trump's consolidation of power also comes at the same time he's attempting to unilaterally reset the global trading order — with tariff rates set to his personal whim. Brazil now faces 50% tariffs — among the highest rates of any country — due to its prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, which Trump has denounced as a "witch hunt." The stakes of Trump's centralized command were accentuated Friday, when he ordered two nuclear submarines repositioned in response to saber-rattling by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Politico
12 hours ago
- Politico
A war is brewing over the future of the Republican Party. It's getting messy.
'The fact that [Young Republicans are] divided over something like this — what type of work we should be doing — says a lot about what the potential implications are for 2026 and 2028,' said Giunta, who emphasized the importance of party unity. 'In 2028, it's really about fighting for what the future identity of the party looks like in a post-Trump era.' Restore YR, which is seeking to unseat the current leadership in an effort to 'restore trust, opportunity, and unity,' has won the endorsements of hardcore MAGA firebrands like Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), longtime Trump ally and convicted felon Roger Stone, Florida GOP Chair Evan Power, and Turning Point Action Chief Operating Officer Tyler Bowyer, who was one of several 'fake electors' in Arizona in 2020. Stone, who served as Young Republican National Federation chair from 1977 to 1979, said he endorsed the Restore YR slate 'simply because they are most closely aligned with President Trump and the America First Movement within the Republican Party.' While YRNF has never been a backbone of the GOP's fundraising efforts, its 14,000-some foot soldiers have long served a vital role in ground game efforts for Republican campaigns, and the organization has produced some of the party's most dedicated advocates, with more than a dozen alumni currently serving in Congress. 'The YRs are the boots on the ground,' said California Young Republicans Chair Ariana Assenmacher, who is running for co-chair on the Restore YR slate. 'We're the youth movement of the party, and so for us to be able to go into '26 with a clear game plan of what congressional and Senate seats we're going to be focusing on, what statewide races we're going to be focusing on, we need to make sure that we are giving the president and the administration as much support as possible.' In June, Giunta — who leads the Restore YR challengers — shared a litany of complaints about Padgett and his board's leadership with the White House, alleging the incumbent YRNF administration had shown insufficient support for the president and, at times, secretly worked to undermine him.
Chicago Tribune
14 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: ‘Black Sox' acquitted, but ultimately banned for life from baseball
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 2, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) 1921: Eight White Sox players had been charged with throwing the World Series. Despite earning the nickname the 'Black Sox,' the men were acquitted by a jury that deliberated just 2 hours and 47 minutes. Chicago White Sox players conspired to throw the 1919 World Series. Here's how the Tribune covered it.A day after their acquittal, however, baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis ruled that the players allegedly involved — Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Oscar Emil 'Happy' Felsch, Chick Gandil, Frederick William McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver and Lefty Williams — would be banned for life from organized baseball. 1990: Chicago White Sox rookie Frank Thomas knocked in the winning run in his first major-league game. The Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 during the opener of a doubleheader at County Stadium. In addition to future Hall of Famer Thomas, the Sox's lineup also included two of their No. 1 draft picks: Alex Fernandez (1990) and Robin Ventura (1988). 2001: Chicago Public Library launched its 'One Book, One Chicago' initiative. The first book on the list: 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee — Mayor Richard M. Daley's favorite. Vintage Chicago Tribune: Pelé, Hamm, Beckham, Rapinoe, Messi and more. When soccer's big names came to play2009: Brazilian soccer star Marta made her professional debut in the United States with her Los Angeles Sol team, which lost in a match against the Chicago Red Stars at Toyota Park in Bridgeview. Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past.
