MANSFIELD — Mansfield City Council At-large member Stephanie Zader, charged with OVI in October, has been found guilty of the reduced charge of reckless operation, according to Municipal Court records.
In a judgment entry filed Wednesday in Mansfield Municipal Court, Zader was found guilty of the fourth-degree misdemeanor.
The OVI charge and a second charge of right side of roadway charge were dismissed.
The 35-year-old received a 30-day suspended jail sentence. She was also fined $125 and assessed court costs.
Under Ohio law, a conviction for reckless operation in Ohio also results in up to four points on the offender’s driver’s license. In Ohio’s points system, if a driver receives 12 or more points over a period of two years, their license can be suspended for six months.
According to Mansfield Municipal Court records, this was Zader’s first driving offense in more than a decade. It was her first OVI arrest.
Zader was stopped by a trooper with the Mansfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol on Oct. 15 at 1:40 a.m. on U.S. 42 near Sunset Boulevard in Mansfield.
The trooper stopped Zader for allegedly driving left of center in a Hyundai sedan, according to a narrative provided by Sgt. Ryan Purpura of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
According to the report, Zader showed signs of impairment. The trooper also reported seeing an open container in the center console cup holder.
Zader was asked to perform field-sobriety tests outside of the trooper’s patrol car and was then arrested.
Zader was taken to the Mansfield post, where she submitted to a breath test. She was determined to have a blood-alcohol content of 0.131. Ohio’s legal driving limit is 0.08.
