Trial Underway For Fmr. Principal Facing DUI, Drug Charges
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) -- Opening statements were underway in the trial of a former Broward County principal facing drug and DUI charges.
CBS4's Joan Murray confirmed the man on trial, Steven Williams, is the son of former Broward County Schools board member Ben Williams.
In trial on Tuesday, prosecutors said there is evidence Steven Williams was drunk when he was stopped back in February in Dania Beach. They also said police saw him with a bag of cocaine.
Prosecutors also played a video of Williams' sobriety test inside a Broward Sheriff's Office station. In the video, it appears that Williams has a slight difficulty walking a straight line one way.
William's lawyer pointed out that Williams had never before been subjected to a sobriety test. His attorney also argued Williams was not drunk nor did he have cocaine. They say he was at a wedding trying to help the husband of a teacher who had become belligerent.
Police say Williams, who was a principal at Driftwood Middle School at the time of the incident, failed a sobriety test after being stopped.
Related:Broward Middle School Principal Arrested On Drug, DUI Charges
According to an arrest report, deputies responded to reports of a disturbance at 300 Gulfstream Road around 3 a.m. The report says deputies stopped Williams' car after the 911 caller yelled, "stop that car he's drunk and his friend attacked one of my guys."
Once out of the car, the report adds that Williams "pulled his left hand out of (his) pocket and an object fell from the pocket to the ground." The report says, "(T)he object was identified as a clear plastic bag" and the substance inside it "tested positive for cocaine."
Once he was arrested for DUI and cocaine possession, Broward County School District officials said Williams was removed from the school and reassigned to a position away from the school.
If convicted, Williams would face five years in prison.