NORWICH – Deliberating for a little over an hour Wednesday, a jury found an Oxford man not guilty of felony driving while intoxicated, but guilty of driving while ability impaired, a misdemeanor.

Norwich City Police arrested 29-year-old Thomas Toomer II on May 7 along Park St. after a patrol noticed his vehicle crossing the center divide line on Mitchell Street. They said they followed his vehicle for a short period of time.

Toomer was traveling with a passenger so intoxicated that officers testified they were unable to communicate with him or even get his name. Toomer admitted in a video recording at the Norwich Police Station that he was giving the man a ride home from the bar because his friend was too drunk to drive at around 1 a.m. on the night in question. Taking the stand in his own defense Wednesday, Toomer testified he didn’t have a single drink all day long.

Toomer was facing up to four years in state prison over the felony charges, but is now looking at a maximum of 180 days in local jail for his misdemeanor conviction.

Toomer told the court he had been pulled over earlier in the day by another law enforcement agency while traveling along State Highway 12 between Oxford and Norwich and was released without receiving any tickets prior to his DWI arrest in the city.

Norwich City Police Officer Timothy Annesi testified he was only able to perform one of the three standardized field sobriety tests before Toomer refused to cooperate and began demanding a lawyer.

Annesi was one of three officers called to the stand Tuesday, and testified that in his professional opinion, he believed Toomer was “highly intoxicated.” Two other officers also involved in the case, First Sergeant Scott Burlison and Officer Craig Berry, both testified that they also believed Toomer was intoxicated, citing his slurred speech, alcohol odor, blood-shot eyes and combative attitude toward police.

Jurors watched a lengthy video of police processing Toomer at the station following his arrest, during which time Toomer admitted in court that he lost his temper.

In the video, Toomer is seen cursing at officers at several points and then complimenting them at others. Chained to the floor for most of the video, Toomer is seen arguing and begging with officers to contact his attorney for more than 30 minutes. During that time, police are filing paper work, attempting to find his lawyer’s phone number and trying to explain his rights.

Toomer refused to submit to an alcohol breath test until he could contact his attorney. After making numerous attempts to reach the law office at around 2:30 a.m., police entered an automatic refusal into their paper work. “I’m not saying I’m refusing, I’m saying I need to talk to a lawyer,” Toomer is heard telling officers on the video.