VALPARAISO | Jennifer Cantrell, daughter of East Chicago political operative Robert Cantrell, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a reduced charge of public intoxication stemming from a 2005 drunken driving arrest in Hammond.
Cantrell, represented by Mark Gruenhagen, was sentenced to complete 25 hours of community service. Gruenhagen said he would like his 29-year-old client to serve her time through the legal aid clinic in Hammond.
Porter Superior Judge Roger Bradford later said he would require proof of the time served.
The plea agreement struck in the case suspended 180 days of jail time and a $500 fine. Cantrell's driving privileges were restored.
Cantrell was charged with two counts of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. The charges came after a minor traffic accident Nov. 15, 2005, near 169th Street and Kennedy Avenue in Hammond. No one was injured, but the Hammond police officer's field test determined Cantrell had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.12, which exceeds the legal limit of 0.08.
Bradford, who was assigned special judge in the case, questioned whether Cantrell, as an attorney, would now be facing professional discipline.
Gruenhagen said his client was not an attorney yet at the time of the arrest and that this type of offense does not lead to disciplinary action. Discipline is reserved for cases involving dishonesty and other offenses, he said.
The case was in the news this past summer when the special prosecutor announced he would not be filing felony obstruction charges against Robert Cantrell or his son, Hammond attorney John Cantrell, for allegedly interfering with Jennifer Cantrell's arrest.
Both men showed up at the arrest scene and John Cantrell reportedly objected periodically and requested a second portable breath test with a new mouthpiece. John Cantrell then told police his sister would not submit to the second portable breath test.
At the police station, Robert Cantrell was not permitted to see his daughter, but asked the booking officer if she could see her attorney.
The special prosecutor's report says the booking officer was unsure whether that was permitted and decided to allow it, permitting John and Jennifer Cantrell to talk for about one hour and 15 minutes, delaying the breath test just beyond the three-hour period required by law.
