NORWICH – Witness testimony was heard Thursday during a pre-trial hearing for the case of a contested felony driving while intoxicated charge.

Edgar L. Pierce, 55, of Sherburne, has been charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated (for allegedly having a blood alcohol content level of .19 percent at the time of the incident) and felony driving while intoxicated (a felony due to a previous DWI conviction), both are class E felonies. The charges stem from a traffic stop which occurred February 16, 2013 in the Village of Sherburne. During the pre-trial court hearing yesterday defense attorney Scott Clippinger and prosecutor Joseph McBride contested whether or not the charges arose from a lawful traffic stop.

Sherburne police officer Ryan M. Legacy, a two-year veteran of the force, was called to the stand and sworn in. Presiding Judge Martin E. Smith also reviewed a video recording from the officer’s dash cam which captured the traffic stop.

According to Legacy’s testimony, he was on patrol during the night in question when he witnessed a 1997 Mazda Miata perform a series of traffic violations. The officer first spotted the vehicle while it was traveling southbound on Classic Street in the Village of Sherburne. Following behind the car, he witnessed it stop briefly at the red light located at the intersection of State Highway 12 and State Highway 80, with one-third of the front car over the white line. Once past the red light and outside of the village fire department, Legacy observed the Mazda swerve – leading to a citation for unsafe lane change. It was made clear for the record that while Pierce did cross the section of the roadway usually denoted by a fog line, there is in fact no painted white line during the specific portion of the roadway in question. Following the swerve, Legacy observed the Mazda cross over a bridge spanning the width of the Chenango River and, after utilizing the right turn signal, pull off onto the side of the road. At this point, Legacy activated his emergency lights and pulled up behind the parked vehicle.

“When did you decide to follow the vehicle ... when did you decide to stop it?” inquired Clippinger during his cross-examination of the witness.

“After the red light ... after the vehicle swerved,” responded Legacy.