NORWICH – A man accused of driving while intoxicated appeared in Chenango County Court for a hearing disputing the cause of his arrest and if his past legal troubles could be used against him at a future trial.

Robert G. Niles, is charged with DWI for allegedly crashing his Toyota pick-up truck near his home on Corbin Road in Afton on Oct. 28 after allegedly drinking prior to the accident at his place of employment.

Seven year veteran New York State Trooper Craig T. Starr testified at the hearing.

“I came up on the Toyota pick-up in a ditch, empty. I looked in and around the vehicle and noticed an odor of alcohol and beer cans scattered inside the vehicle. As I was doing this, a man with a flash light came walking down the road,” said Starr.

Starr testified that the man also smelled of alcohol, had unsteady balance, slurred his speech and had difficulty speaking with him.

“I asked him how his truck got there and originally he said someone must have taken it from his driveway. I took him aside and basically told him I didn’t believe that and he then admitted he was driving the vehicle,” said Starr.

During the hearing, Starr referred to his notes where he kept a minute to minute account of the night in question. Niles told Trooper Starr he had wrecked the car an hour earlier, 6:30 p.m. the earliest, and walked up to his home a short distance away. Niles then began drinking at his residence and came back down to the accident after he noticed flashing lights coming from down the road at about 7:33 p.m., according the trooper’s notes.