Pilots Thomas Cloyd and Christopher Hughes bowed their heads when the guilty verdict was read after a two-week trial.  Each man hugged weeping loved ones before being handcuffed and taken to jail.

Cloyd and Hughes were arrested July 1, 2002, as their Phoenix-bound jet was being pushed back from its gate at Miami International Airport.

Police ordered the plane to turn back and arrested the pilots after security screeners smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Hughes, and Cloyd got in an argument over his attempts to bring aboard a cup of coffee.

Judge David Young ordered both men held without bail and set sentencing for July 20, 2005.

Florida: Jurors Deciding Fate of Former America West Pilots Accused in DUI Case

Two former America West pilots on trial for operating an aircraft while drunk reeked of alcohol and were careless and reckless when they climbed into the cockpit three years ago, a prosecutor told jurors before they began their deliberations Tuesday.

Assistant Miami-Dade State Attorney Deisy Rodriguez said pilot Thomas Cloyd and co-pilot Christopher Hughes showed up groggy for their 10:30 flight after a night of drinking in which they staggered out of a bar after 4:30 a.m.   

"The boys wanted to play pool and pound beers," Rodriguez said. "They weren't drinking water. They were drinking beer, Sierra Nevada beer with a 5.6 volume of alcohol. It takes less of these to become impaired."  The jury of six men will continue their deliberations this morning.

If convicted, Cloyd and Hughes could be sentenced to up to five years in prison. America West fired both men, and they have lost their commercial pilot's licenses.

Rodriguez said Cloyd and Hughes endangered the lives of the 127 people aboard the Phoenix-bound flight in July 2002 when they climbed into the cockpit while drunk.

Breath tests administered hours after their scheduled departure showed both pilots' blood-alcohol levels were higher than Florida's 0.08 limit.  A bartender testified the two men ran up a $122 bar tab and ordered seven 34-ounce and seven 16-ounce beers.

In their closing arguments, defense attorneys told jurors that the pilots were never in control of the airplane as it sat at the terminal and as it was being towed to the tarmac. Hughes' attorney, James Rubin, said the tug operator was in charge of moving the plane because the pilot's controls were disconnected.

"It's like playing your Atari with the joystick unplugged," he said. "It's not going to work."

Both Rubin and Dan Foodman, Cloyd's attorney, also were quick to note that a slew of witnesses never noticed that the two men were impaired. A flight attendant, several security screeners and police officers did not see the two men slur their speech or stumble, Foodman said.

The defense attorneys, who rested their case after calling only the tow truck operator as a witness, attacked the credibility of the Miami-Dade police officers who arrested the pilots. They accused officers of failing to perform enough field sobriety tests and of failing to count how long Cloyd and Hughes blew into a Breathalyzer, which skewed the results.

During his closing statement, Foodman refocused the jury's attention on what he said was the case's central issue: control of the aircraft.

"Flight is when an aircraft is under its own power," Foodman said. "Under FAA regulations, the pilot does not become a crew member until that happens."

Rodriguez, however, told jurors that they must also examine the pilots' actions 30 minutes before the tug pulled the plane from a terminal at the airport. Rodriguez said Cloyd and Hughes rushed through a crucial preflight check of the aircraft and entered navigation coordinates into the plane's computer while impaired.

She also reminded jurors that Cloyd released the airplane's parking brake and ordered the tug operator to pull the plane away from the gate, Rodriguez said.

"You just can't sit in an Airbus 319 and go," she said.

Source: Reprint, with permission, of an article by Chrystian Tejedor, from The South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Delhi Township, Ohio: Man Riding Lawnmower is Charged With DUI

A man riding a lawnmower down a public street was charged with DUI.  Joseph Mundy told police he got the munchies, so he started out toward the Delhi Kroger store. He was riding down Covedale Avenue in the dark when an officer stopped him.

"He didn't have headlights, of course, and the officer almost hit him, and he thought it was stolen," said Delhi Township Cpl. Joe Macaluso. "But he ruled that out real quickly, and he realized the munchies got the best of him."  The officer called a tow truck for the mower.

"This is the most bizarre call I've ever had," said Joe Elliott of Schaffer's Towing. "It was something you'd see on COPS, but not something you go out and do."

Beverly Hills, California: Director Oliver Stone Arrested for Drug DUI

Director Oliver Stone has been arrested for investigation of drug possession and driving while intoxicated.  He was pulled over at a police checkpoint in Beverly Hills, California, after police say he showed signs of alcohol impairment.  Police say they also found drugs in his car, but wouldn't say what kind.

In 1999, the filmmaker pleaded guilty to drug possession and no contest to driving under the influence. He was ordered into a rehabilitation program.

Stone won Academy Awards for directing in 1989 for Born on the Fourth of July and in 1986 for Platoon, which also won the Oscar for best picture.