Central Texas Judge Busted For DWI After Ingesting 'Home Remedy' For Asthma

MART, TX — An elected official from Central Texas recently busted for DWI essentially told police he was drinking solely for medicinal purposes, having imbibed a whiskey-based home brew he said relieves his asthma symptoms.

Limestone County Judge Daniel Burkeen was arrested on Wednesday in Mart, Texas, after he was seen driving erratically, the Associated Press reported. In a subsequent affidavit, Burkeen was said to have been slurring his speech and smelling of alcohol during the stop.

Burkeen, 59, the Limestone County Republican county judge first elected in 2010 and again in an unopposed re-election bid in 2014, was stopped after an officer saw the muffler of a white Chevrolet Impala dragging on the street as the car traveled east in the 400 block of West Texas Avenue shortly after 2 p.m., according to the affidavit, as referenced by the Waco Tribune.

But while taking responsibility, Burkeen said in a statement later that the concoction of whiskey, honey, lemon and a decongestant was a home remedy for relieving what ailed him. He added he didn't anticipate the effects of the home brew and warned others not to drive under the influence of intoxicating substances.

The judge was freed from detention in the McClennan County Jail Wednesday night after posting a $1,000 bond.

Burkeen made headlines in 2010 for his response to Texas Council of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) after tey assigned a complaint to his court. The complaint centered on David Cousins, a Limestone County resident, who was accused of not providing restroom facilities in the cabin of his wooded dear lease, instead encouraging hunters to use the woods when nature called, according to a report in the Houston Press.

"We have had some delay in our investigation of the incidents alleged in the complaint which you kindly forwarded to us," Burkeen wrote to TCEQ officils. "The problem is, we have recently had a rash of reports of cows, horses, sheep and goats defecating at will in pastures throughout the county. "I have personal proof on my windshield of a mischievous bird defecating in flight. The culprit flew away, but I did get a description. It was red. The gift it left was white."

He wasn't finished: "In order to complete our investigation, I must ask, we should inquire into urination, or only defecation?" The question was asked, he said because hunters "...have long been suspected of taking a good amount of liquid refreshments with them into the woods."

Despite the judge's sarcastic reply to regulators, a toilet was later installed at the cabin in question.

>>> Read the full story at Associated Press

Photo via Limestone County website