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Okinawa cops accuse another U.S. serviceman of drunk driving

A U.S. serviceman was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after a vehicle he was driving rammed into a car stopped at a signal
A U.S. serviceman was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after a vehicle he was driving rammed into a car stopped at a signal

OKINAWA (TR) – Since the lifting of an off-base ban on alcohol last month, Okinawa Prefectural Police have arrested a second U.S. serviceman for drunk driving, reports TBS News.

At around 10:15 a.m. on Saturday, police arrested Joren Ladd, a 22-year-old member of the U.S. Air Force, after the vehicle he was driving crashed into a car stopped at a signal in the town of Chatan.

Ladd, who is stationed at Kadena Air Base, admits to the allegations. “I had two beers,” the suspect is quoted. “I was on my way home.”

The results of a breathalyzer test revealed an alcohol level five times the legal limit.

U.S. forces imposed a drinking ban on its members and civilian personnel in Okinawa from May 27 to June 28 as part of a “unity and mourning” period in light of public uproar after Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, a U.S. military contractor and former marine, admitted to raping and murdering 20-year-old Rina Shimabukuro.

Earlier this month, police charged Christopher Aaron Platte, a staff sergeant also at Kadena, with drunk driving after his vehicle was observed weaving on a road in Chatan.