Son of town councilman, Emma's Law supporter charged with DUI

LEXINGTON, SC (WIS) - Lexington town councilman Ted Stambolitis' son has been arrested and charged with driving under the influence.

Jonathan Ted Stambolitis, 25, of Raymond Circle was booked into the Lexington County Detention Center Sunday on a charge of first offense DUI .08 or under.

According to a Lexington Police Department incident report, Stambolitis was pulled over around 1:30 a.m. near the intersection of U.S. Highway 378 and U.S. Highway 1 in downtown Lexington.

An officer reported clocking Stambolitis at 58 in a 45 mph zone. The officer noted in the report Stambolitis smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.

The officer guided Stambolitis through several field sobriety tests before arresting him for DUI.

At the detention center, Stambolitis refused to provide a breath sample, the report stated. Stambolitis told the officer he had consumed two "larger sized high gravity beers" consisting of 9-10 percent alcohol before leaving work.

Stambolitis' reported home address is the Golden Hills Golf and Country Club home of his father, Lexington town councilman Ted Stambolitis.

Ted Stambolitis has been a council member since 2004.

A sign in front of his Flight Deck restaurant urges legislators to pass "Emma's Law," which calls for stricter penalties for DUI drivers, including ignition interlock devices for repeat and first time offenders who have a certain blood alcohol content.

The law is named after Emma Longstreet. She was killed in a January 1, 2012 crash at the intersection of Sunset Blvd. and Old Cherokee Road by a repeat DUI offender who is now serving 9 years in connection with her death.

"As a father and as a citizen, I kind of picture what would happen if that were my child, so I'm very troubled by it," said Stambolitis during a March 19 WIS story about support for Emma's Law. "These are good people losing innocent children. It's very painful to our community and very painful to us as parents."

"Enough is enough," said Stambolitis March 19. "I think we as parents and citizens of the town and of the state need to find a way to put a stop to it and Emma's Law is a good start."

WIS has reached out to Stambolitis for comment on his son's arrest. We have not heard from the councilman.

Emma's Law goes before a legislative subcommittee Thursday morning.

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