He was drunk and stumbling on a busy Cobb County road, according to police. So an officer gave James Dowling a ride home, his arrest warrant states.

But police said the Kennesaw man refused to stay home and wandered into the road again Friday night.

RELATED: Only a few cited for violating Kemp's shelter-in-place order

“Said accused refused to follow that lawful order and continued to walk in and around Chastain Road in an intoxicated state for no legal or legitimate reason, violating the ‘shelter in place’ executive order,” the warrant states.

Dowling, who fell over several times while seated on a curb, was a hazard to both himself and drivers, police said. The 59-year-old was arrested and charged with being a pedestrian under the influence, littering and violating Gov. Brian Kemp’s shelter-in-place order, jail records show.

Dowling spent about 11 hours in the Cobb jail before being released on his own recognizance.

About the Author

Featured

Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

Credit: NYT