Clayton County commission vice chair Wole Ralph issued a statement Monday saying he is not guilty of the the driving under the influence charges he received early Saturday morning in Atlanta.
"I deeply regret this occurrence," Ralph wrote of his arrest, which he said happened as he was leaving a bowling alley on Metropolitan Parkway. "I am not guilty of these violations and I look forward to resolving this matter in court," Ralph wrote in the three paragraph statement issued Monday on Board of Commissioners stationery.
Clayton commissioners Sonna Singleton and Gail Hambrick issued a statement Sunday in support of Ralph.
Ralph, 33, the vice president of the commission, was arrested at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday after Atlanta police saw a red Ford Mustang "driving recklessly" from a parking lot on Metropolitan Parkway in Southwest Atlanta, an Atlanta police spokesman said.
The vehicle was stopped and officers said the driver refused to cooperate. After a brief struggle, Ralph was arrested. He was taken to Atlanta Grady Detention Center for DUI processing, police said.
After being released, Ralph was taken to the Atlanta City Detention Center and released on a $4,300 bond, a jail official said. He was charged with DUI, obstruction, reckless driving and failure to maintain lane.
Sunday, in their statement, Singleton and Hambrick said Ralph, "has worked tirelessly and unselfishly in service to the people of Clayton County."
They said his leadership and his counsel "have been invaluable to us as we strive to improve the quality of life in our districts and our county." They added, "... nothing we have heard to this point in any way undermines our support for him and our desire to see him continue to provide leadership to this board and this community."
Ralph was elected to his first term at age 26 and was the youngest county commissioner in Georgia, according to the county's website.
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