It was the night after Christmas, and Liverpool Police Officer Jerry Unger saw an automobile driving 44 miles per hours in a 30 mile-per-hour zone along the 800 block of Oswego Street.
His partner that night was Marcus Lukins, a new part-time police officer who recently completed his course-work at the Public Safety Training Center at Onondaga Community College. Unger was demonstrating for Lukins the proper way to conduct traffic stops.
The officers pulled the car over along Onondaga Lake Parkway.
The speeding driver was a young woman who said she’d enjoyed a single beer at a local bowling alley. Unger detected the odor of alcohol on her breath and noted that her speech was somewhat slurred. He ran her through a sobriety test and eventually arrested her for driving while intoxicated.
No request for favoritism
The young lady remained cooperative and polite throughout the encounter, Unger noted, and she never spoke up about her family’s ties to local law enforcement. Because he was concentrating on showing Lukins the step-by-step procedures that must be followed in making a DWI arrest, Officer Unger didn’t think much about the lady’s last name. After all, Fitzpatrick is a common enough Irish surname.
Before long, however, Unger learned that his suspect, Sara Fitzpatrick, is the daughter of Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick.
Sara Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of driving while impaired on Tuesday, Jan. 14, before Judge Anthony LaValle in Liverpool Village Court. She had been arrested during the early-morning hours of Friday, Dec. 27, and charged with DWI. Court papers indicate she registered a blood alcohol content of .14. The legal limit is .08.
Judge LaValle suspended her driver’s license for 90 days and ordered her to pay a maximum fine of $500 and to attend an alcohol-awareness program.
The case was handled by an Oneida County prosecutor after DA Fitzpatrick had asked for a special prosecutor to step in.
One of the village’s most unusual retail outlets, Jo’s Li’l Cupcake, closed on Jan. 3.
Shirley and Mike Martin opened the specialty shop on Nov. 13, 2012, at 141 First St., the former location of Chris’s Flowers. Tiny cupcakes and Paul de Lima coffee were Jo’s big draws, but the Martins also sold treats for pet dogs. The shop was named after the couple’s pet terrier, Jo.
The Empire Sub Shop is now selling 65 varieties of delicious sandwiches, wings, salads, soups and fresh pastries at the former Burger King location at 508 Oswego St. The shop started delivering earlier this month all over the village and all the way up to Wetzel Road to the north, Pitcher Hill to the east and Galeville to the south.
For now the delivery is available nights only, but owners Bill Greene Jr., Tim Graber and Paul Atkins plan to become mobile during the daytime any day now.
Affiliated with the world-famous Oswego Sub Shop up in the Port City, the Empire Sub Shop stays open late every night and until 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday; empiresubshop.com.
For deliveries or pick-up, call 461-1233.
Liverpool native Korrie Taylor is directing a full-scale production of “Les Misérables” for the Baldwinsville Theatre Guild. The popular musical based on Victor Hugo’s novel opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, and continues Fridays and Saturdays through Feb. 8, at the First Presbyterian Education Center, 64 Oswego St., in B’ville. Two matinees are scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, June 26 and Feb. 2.
“The incredible vocal abilities of this cast make my job an easy one,” said Taylor, a member of Liverpool High School’s class of 2000. “It’s a beast of a show, but the music is beautiful, the message timeless, and it’s going to be something you don’t want to miss.”
Tickets cost $25, $20 for students, and $20 for seniors at the matinee only; 877-8465; baldwinsvilletheatreguild.org.
