By Erica Solvig
Enquirer staff writer

LEBANON - A former Deerfield Township trustee, who said he has not had a drink since Warren County sheriff's deputies pulled him over for drunken driving earlier this month, will serve three days in jail.

Bill Morand, 48, pleaded no contest to the DUI charge and was found guilty in Lebanon Municipal Court Monday afternoon.

He was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 177 days suspended pending a two-year probation. Morand also must pay a $1,000 fine and court costs.

His license will be suspended for 180 days, but Morand will have driving privileges for work.

This is Morand's third drunken driving conviction; the other two were in 1982 and 1989, according to state records.

Morand was a Deerfield trustee for eight years before he lost the November election. He is president of the township's storm water board and serves on the veteran's memorial committee.

"I don't like the fact that I'm a drinker. God answers prayers in different ways. And I feel confident that ... He kind of smacked me on the head," Morand told the judge. He vowed that alcohol is "never going to be a problem again in my life."

Morand was pulled over early on July 1 for going 68 mph in a 55 mph zone on southbound Ohio 741 in Turtlecreek Township. Breath tests showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.129. Ohio's legal limit is 0.08.

Morand also was charged with speeding and not wearing a seat belt, but those charges were dropped. According to records, Morand told the deputy who pulled him over that he had been drinking beers at Bristol's Show Club and Revue in Monroe. The report says there were two bottles of beer under the driver's seat and another bottle inside the console.

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E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com