Assistant DA Crashes Into House

Posted on June 17th, 2008 8:54am by Tim Rogers
Filed under Local News

News comes to us this morning that Dallas County prosecutor Thomas Gatlin ran his car into a house Saturday, and that by the looks of things (e.g., open bottle of vodka onboard) he was drunk. A FrontBurnervian on the scene sends photos of the incident:

42 comments

  1. Job opening!

    @ 8:59 am on June 17, 2008

  2. Ohhh SNAP. This is pretty much the highlight of my week. I have the number of a great attorney, Thomas. You might recognize him from the table to your left in the court room most days.

    @ 9:20 am on June 17, 2008

  3. He wasn’t drunk, he was distracted while doing his moonlighting work for Google Maps:

    http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2008/05/20/google-to-dallas-say-cheese/

    @ 9:46 am on June 17, 2008

  4. Note window smashed by neighbors to stop ADA from fleeing the scene.

    I’m picturing the video to Der Kommissar, in which our Eurotrash man careens through the frame(s), backlit by police-car lights in desperate and doomed flight.

    Jesus, I’m old.

    @ 9:46 am on June 17, 2008

  5. I thought on the news this am they said the window was broken by neighbors trying to turn the ignition off.

    When he ran into the house, he kept pressing on the gas pedal and the tires were spinning and causing fumes and smoke.

    So the neighbors had to reach in and turn off the car to get it to stop. He was too out of it to know the car was not moving?

    All of this, of course, allegedly.

    That is what I thought they said?? But I may be wrong?

    @ 9:55 am on June 17, 2008

  6. Drew-That made my day!!

    @ 10:12 am on June 17, 2008

  7. I think that should be worded as “soon-to-be-ex-Dallas County prosecutor Thomas Gatlin”.

    @ 10:15 am on June 17, 2008

  8. :) , you’ve got it right. The note on the pic and your fuller description tell the same story: neighbors smash window, put car in park, take keys.

    @ 10:26 am on June 17, 2008

  9. He was just following the example of his boss. Mr Watkins has wrecked three cars. Once he hit a house. What’s the big deal!

    @ 10:43 am on June 17, 2008

  10. Is that a Crepe Myrtle down in the front yard!? Holy crap, Neil Sperry is going to be pissed!

    @ 10:45 am on June 17, 2008

  11. what happened to the good old days when you could simply smash your car into a house and not cause a scene? i miss them.

    @ 10:46 am on June 17, 2008

  12. do ya think he called 1 800 The Dogs?

    @ 10:46 am on June 17, 2008

  13. Who builds their *&$^#% house in the middle of the road?

    @ 10:46 am on June 17, 2008

  14. That’s the trouble with neighborhoods up north – all the houses look alike so how do you know which one is yours after a few drinks?

    @ 11:23 am on June 17, 2008

  15. Is there a journalist following up on this by asking (a) what’s he doing in this neighborhood (b) is it possible he had a medical condition such as epilepsy because this sounds more like a seizure than a DWI and (c) is he married and does his wife know where he was?
    Oh, wait. I forgot what town I’m in. All the good questioners have been excused from further participation due to fluctuations in the company stock.

    @ 11:25 am on June 17, 2008

  16. And, oh, yeah, is that a personal car or is it a county car (leased and paid for by the county? owned by the county? reimbursed by the county?)

    @ 11:27 am on June 17, 2008

  17. public, according to the story, “An open bottle of vodka was inside the car.”

    @ 11:28 am on June 17, 2008

  18. I don’t know much about epilepsy, but I’m pretty sure drinking and driving is not one of the symptoms.

    @ 12:06 pm on June 17, 2008

  19. Hey unemployed lawyer… I hear Brian Loncar the ‘Texas Hammer’ needs some help with bedpans, changing his dressings and daily walks.

    http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/051708dnmetloncar.107640c3f.html

    @ 12:17 pm on June 17, 2008

  20. Btw, Jim Adler is the “Texas Hammer”.

    @ 12:25 pm on June 17, 2008

  21. Bethany, CDD,
    You don’t know that the vodka was opened in the crash or was already open. You don’t know if someone put it the car when they were breaking out the window. You don’t know if the guy was drunk or if he’s an actual epileptic. And that is why you need good reporters — to ask the questions when you poor sheep are satisfied with the official versions.

    @ 12:25 pm on June 17, 2008

  22. Uh….reporters pretty much go by the police report, right – at least initially. The accident just happened, after all.

    At least, that’s how it worked when I was a crime reporter.

    @ 12:30 pm on June 17, 2008

  23. Whoops! Sorry Jim Adler…I get all of you dang lawyers mixed up.
    Thanks Puddin’.

    @ 12:38 pm on June 17, 2008

  24. Let’s see. Open bottle of vodka. Car running into a house. Blood shot eyes. Unable to walk. Driver not acting sensibly. It must be epilepsy or lupus. Can somebody page Dr. House, please.

    @ 12:46 pm on June 17, 2008

  25. Maybe it’s dropsy. Or pleurisy. Or pernicious distemper.

    @ 12:57 pm on June 17, 2008

  26. I heard he has rickets and the only thing to soothe the pain is a bottle of Grey Goose and a spin around the neighborhood.

    And seeing how tenacity is so important in the character of a prosecutor, it only makes sense that he tried valiantly to soldier on through that house even after that brick wall stopped his Pontiac of Justice.

    @ 1:23 pm on June 17, 2008

  27. Classic case of Mopery perhaps?

    @ 1:55 pm on June 17, 2008

  28. I believe that “Pontiac of Justice” is my new band name.

    @ 2:27 pm on June 17, 2008

  29. amandacobra ought to be in demand next time there’s a writers strike!!! And btw, most cops are in fact smart enough to tell the difference between a medical condition and alcohol intoxication. Give them some credit please…

    @ 2:45 pm on June 17, 2008

  30. Pontiac of Justice. How awesome!

    @ 3:21 pm on June 17, 2008

  31. “Pontiac of Justice” I’m crying…

    @ 3:30 pm on June 17, 2008

  32. You stay classy Dallas.

    @ 3:35 pm on June 17, 2008

  33. It looks like he resigned….

    http://texaslawyer.typepad.com/texas_lawyer_blog/2008/06/dallas-prosecut.html

    @ 3:46 pm on June 17, 2008

  34. Don’t worry Mr. Gatlin, I’m sure Rick Harrison out in Kaufman County would hire a fellow drunk driver.

    @ 4:43 pm on June 17, 2008

  35. Great view of the approach shot courtesy of Google Maps. He just followed the white line straight in. Talk to me Goose.

    http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=33.014062,-96.837165&spn=0.009176,0.018711&z=16&layer=c&cbll=33.009458,-96.837057&panoid=YDLFoAWr7VI4QiH4ha9PdQ&cbp=1,459.0002186618705,,0,8.72127034417742

    @ 5:24 pm on June 17, 2008

  36. Stupid Garman.

    @ 5:28 pm on June 17, 2008

  37. Sometimes the first story is the correct story….but, still, that’s why you have reporters asking questions….

    @ 5:39 pm on June 17, 2008

  38. Maybe he was trying to stage the house — bet it’s going to be on the market soon at a very good price. Address? (The things you have to do to sell homes in this market!!!)

    http://dallasdirt.dmagazine.com

    @ 10:31 pm on June 17, 2008

  39. looks like he made is way around betline too. with extra stops in Addison..

    @ 1:11 pm on June 18, 2008

  40. All of you should write comedy – well, you do, but you know what I mean. This one made me laugh out loud!! Thanks

    @ 3:15 pm on June 18, 2008

  41. It infuriates me that some people have nothing better to do with their lives than enjoy the misery of others. This could have happened to anyone – be thankful that nobody was hurt.

    @ 10:40 am on July 10, 2008

  42. Looks like there is a lot of people with too much time on their hands.

    @ 11:22 am on July 10, 2008