Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-20
Says Story Used as RuSe to
Escape Arrest After Ac-
Cident.
BOND OF 81 900 ALLOWED
TO STAND IN POLICE COURT
Syringe Found in Car of Son of
Senator Turned Over to Mar
cotics Agents.

Arraigned in Police Court this morn
ing on the charge of operating an auto
mobile while under the influence of
drugs. James Thomas Heflin, ir., son OF
the Alabama Senator pleaded not guilty
and demanded jury trial, His BOND OF
$1,000, furnished after his arrest fol-
lowing a collision at Seventh street and
Pennsylvania avenue last night, was
permitted to stand Heflin freely adj
n1itted that he had been drinking be-
fore the crash, but insisted that he was
not addicted to the use of narcotlcs
and was not under the influence OF
drug yesterday.
The police are holding syringe,
found in Helms car and have turned
over to the narcotic division OF the
Treasury Department for analysis a
bottle purported to contain tonic
Meanwhile a private physician, who Is
said to have prescribed dose Of drugs
for Hef1in several days ago informed
the police that the young man had
represented himself as Mr.. Thomas"
and had been suffering from nervous
trouble.
The charge was lodged against Heflin
when he told Policeman Claude G.
Shelton, on traffic duty at Seventh
street and Pennsylvania avenue, the
policeman reported, that his unsteaoy
a drug. Later at Emergency Hospital,
where he was taken for examination, he
said that he had not taken dose OF
the drug since Tuesday. He also told
hospital attaches that the same day
he went to a private physician, who
gave him an injection Of a narcotic.
He told. the doctor. he asserted, that
he was Mr.. Thomas"
Car Strikes Truck.
Helms car struck the rear Of
truck driven by Roy G. Bragg Of Alex
andria Va. The damage to both ma
chimes was slight
Hef1in was taken to Emergency Hos
pital, where he was examined by DR..
Gribovsky of the staff. The physician
diagnosed his condition as possible
drug poisoning"
Young Hef1in told newspaper men to-
day that he merely pretended to be
under the influence of drug in the
hope that he would not be charged with
driving while intoxicated.
Instead of letting me go with tlaat
explanation" Hef1in exclaimed ruefully
today, "the darn fools charged me with
operating a car under the influence of
drugs"
He explained that he tried the same
thing while student at the University
of Alabama. He had been placed on
probation by the university authorities
because of his drinking, he declared,
and was afraid of being forced to leave
school IL caught intoxicated.
Story Wouldn't WorS.
IT was caught drunk at a foot ball
game. My friends told me to say that
/ was drunk from drugs. did and got
away with it. Last night my first i'm
pulse was to do the same thing, but my
story wouldn't work on the Washington
cops"
Here's the way IT. happened" Hef1in
recounted today, Il hadn't had drink
from April 13, which was few days
after the trouble I had when I arrived
in New York from Panama, until June
gan drinking grain alcohol about 10
O'Clock. I must have drunk about half
a pint during the day.
MY car was being repaired in a ga
rage at Fourteenth and L streets A
little before 4 o'clock they telephoned
me to come for it. 1 wasn't half as
drunk as 1 have been and driven with
out any trouble. Everything went along
all right until got to Seventh street
There was big truck in front of me-
The cop switched the traffic signal
an abrupt halt. I damned on the
brakes, but couldn't stop in time The
driver and 1 got. out and he said that
1t was his fault. J was about to get
in my car because I was in a hurry
to get back home to get a drink when
the policeman walked up and smelled
my breath. told him / had taken a
drug and he said so you're drug adj
dict and took me of to the hospital"