SOPHIA, WV (WVNS) — A criminal complaint filed Tuesday, January 2, 2024, in Raleigh County Magistrate Court charges the chief of Sophia Area Volunteer Fire Department with first-offense DUI, a misdemeanor.

The complaint alleged a 911 caller reported a black Hyundai was traveling 15-mph in a 45-mph zone on Tuesday but does not specify the time of day.

A patrol officer with Beckley Police Department alleged police also witnessed the car weaving in and out of traffic and stopped the driver, SAVFD Chief Gary Taylor, Jr., on Robert C. Byrd Drive.

The complaint alleges Taylor failed field sobriety tests and that two breath analysis tests were conducted, after the patrol officer observed beer cans in the car.

The earlier test showed a blood alcohol concentration of .125, double the legal limit of .06, while a later test read .106, according to the complaint.

Roger Darnell, who operates a bingo hall beside of the fire department, said on Wednesday, January 3, 2024, that he knows Taylor and his family and that he is not rushing to judgment.

“Yeah, I heard about the DUI. And I, you know, I’ve never known Gary ever drinking at all,” he said. “And I know his family, his dad, I know he goes to church, and Gary, I never seen nothing out of him… I’ve never known him, him nor his family, either one, eever being in trouble for nothing.”

Taylor posted a $2,000 bond, according to magistrate clerk records.

The arrest of Taylor marks the second time in the past year that a Sophia fire chief has appeared in a Raleigh County courtroom.

Former SAVFD Chief Kenneth Churning had pleaded guilty in Raleigh County Circuit Court in July to embezzling more than $133,000 from the fire department.