Cal Harris charged with DWI, leaving property damage accident in Cortland County

Cal Harris, who was acquitted last year after four murder trials, was arrested Friday night on a drunken-driving charge related to a property damage accident in Cortland County, according to state police.

Troopers said they received a 911 call around 7:23 p.m. about a hit-and-run accident on Interstate 81 South in the Town of Preble. A GMC Sierra pickup truck allegedly sideswiped the 911 caller's vehicle while both were traveling on I-81.

Staying in contact with the 911 caller, troopers said, they learned the Sierra's driver had left I-81 at Exit 12. Troopers located the pickup and performed a traffic stop just before 8 p.m. on Hillside Drive in the Town of Cortlandville.

Harris, 56, of Owego, was identified by troopers as the driver of the Sierra pickup. Troopers said he registered a blood alcohol content of 0.13 percent, which is above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Harris was charged with misdemeanor counts of driving while intoxicated, driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or greater, and the following infractions: moving from lane unsafely, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and a license plate violation. He was ticketed to appear in Preble Town Court on Jan. 9. 

Reached over the weekend, Harris told the Press & Sun-Bulletin the arrest was "another pathetic attempt by (state police) Troop C that won't hold up."

In August, a year after being found not guilty of a murder charge in his wife's disappearance, Harris filed a sweeping federal lawsuit against Tioga County officials that his attorney claims have "targeted, hunted and pursued" him over the course of a 15-year legal saga.

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The lawsuit, which argues malicious prosecution and civil-rights violations, remains pending in a Syracuse federal courthouse. 

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