ER doctor gets three years for third DWI

Danie M. Huffman

wdreporter2@yahoo.com

A Parker County jury convicted an Arlington doctor of felony driving while intoxicated.

Martin Allyn Derusha Jr., 44, was sentenced to three years in prison plus fined $5,000 after jurors deliberated for almost seven hours.

The trial began April 14, in the 43rd District Court under visiting judge R. E. Thorton. Judge Don Chrestman presided over the case the final two days.

Derusha’s defense attorney filed a motion to have the jury sequestered, requiring authorities to seek a local hotel to accommodate jurors.

Derusha’s office was located in the Fort Worth medical district.

He was arrested Jan. 20, 2006, for his third DWI charge. 

Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Chris Burns made the traffic stop, where Derusha was speeding on Interstate 20 in Willow Park. 

Derusha failed field sobriety tests and was arrested.

Burns testified Derusha pulled away from him while he was attempting to handcuff him and a struggle began between the pair.

Derusha refused a breath test at the Parker County Justice Center, but agreed to give a blood sample. 

According to the testimony of a Texas Department of Public Safety chemist, the blood sample taken at Weatherford Regional Medical Center showed Derusha’s blood-alcohol concentration was 0.20, more than two times the legal limit of 0.08.

“The trooper and the chemist took nearly a day each to finish their testimony,” said Assistant District Attorney Jeff Swain, who prosecuted the case with Assistant District Attorney Nikki Morton. 

Swain said during cross-examination of the trooper and chemist, three Houston-area defense attorneys attempted to convince jurors the blood sample was contaminated and unreliable. 

“They pointed out what they claimed were irregularities in the DPS lab’s testing of the sample and complained about the trooper’s storage of the blood sample in his locked patrol unit for two days before it was mailed to the lab,” stated a press release from the DA’s office.

The defense hired toxicologist Gary Wimbish, who testified based on what he reviewed from DPS testing, additional alcohol testing on the blood sample in another lab, DNA fungal testing that was completed, and a urine sample from Derusha three days after the arrest showed none of the metabolite produced by the body for several days after alcohol consumption.

Jed Silverman, Derusha’s defense attorney from Houston, said if his client’s level of alcohol was over the limit, his urine should have had a high level of detectable alcohol with a more sensitive testing method.

Swain attains that the defense’s test was not as reliable as DPS testing methods.

Wimbish said the blood specimen collected by law enforcement and any tests performed were also “unreliable.”

“We pointed out to the jury that the defense’s own lab tested the defendant’s blood a year and a half later and came up with a 0.19 alcohol concentration and the retest done by the DPS lab showed a 0.16,” Swain said. “It was also important that the blood tube this man’s sample was taken in contained preservatives to prevent any contamination from effecting the ultimate blood-alcohol testing.”

Swain added the test results were consistent with Burns’ testimony concerning the events on the roadside and with Derusha who was “so uncooperative that he ended up strapped into a restraining chair when he was brought to the jail.”

“There were many signs of intoxication that went hand-in-hand with the blood test results,” Swain said in the release.

Jurors found Derusha guilty April 18.

During the punishment phase, prosecutors introduced evidence showing Derusha was arrested in Arlington in January for another felony DWI offense. 

Monday, a chemist with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office testified that a blood sample taken from Derusha pursuant to a search warrant showed his alcohol concentration in the January arrest was 0.19, again more than twice the legal limit.

A compliance officer from the Texas Medical Board told jurors that at the time of both DWI arrests, Derusha was on what prosecutors referred to as “doctor probation” of his medical license. 

During the probation, the officer said Derusha was prohibited from drinking any alcohol and was required to attend Alcoholics Anonymous five times per week. 

The officer also said Derusha never had any patient care-related complaints.

“Not only was he not allowed to drink, but at the time of the Arlington offense, he was required as a condition of his bond in our case to have an ignition interlock device on his vehicle to prevent him from driving drunk,” Morton said. “We felt strongly that the fact he wasn’t following the rules of his supervision and the requirements of our court showed that he was a danger on the roadway and that he deserved to go to prison.”

The defense called numerous family members and co-workers of Derusha. 

Co-workers described Derusha as a doctor who would go out of his way to help his patients, including after hours and holiday office visits. 

Family members described Derusha as a generous man who simply had a problem with alcohol. 

Defense witnesses asked jurors to send Derusha to a rehabilitation program along with granting him a probated sentence.

“Once this defendant was arrested for the Arlington DWI, we felt that it was imperative that he receive a prison sentence,” Swain said. “We are glad that the jury saw it the same way.”

Derusha filed notice of his intent to appeal Tuesday and posted an appeal bond Wednesday afternoon, securing his release soon thereafter. 

The Arlington DWI case is still pending in Tarrant County courts.

Derusha’s medical license is currently suspended for one year.

Morton said a hearing is expected to determine if Derusha’s license will be revoked.

Silverman said he respected the jury’s decision in their findings.

“Doctor Derusha will not be practicing medicine in the state of Texas,” Silverman said. “Swain tried the case with a great deal of integrity.”