Tucson Region

Top Marshal's Service officer is cited for DUI on NW Side

The man who heads the U.S. Marshal's Service operations in Southern Arizona is facing a drunken-driving charge but remains on the job while the agency reviews the incident internally, officials said Friday. Assistant Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Brian P. Nerney was cited for drunken driving and speeding following an April 20 traffic stop near North La Cañada Drive and West Orange Grove Road, according to a report from the Pima County Sheriff's Department. According to the report: A deputy was driving north on La Cañada when Nerney's vehicle sped past in the opposite direction at 8:28 p.m. The deputy clocked the vehicle on radar at approximately 60 mph in a 45-mph zone and initiated a traffic stop. Nerney, 37, immediately pulled over and the deputy noticed a "moderate odor of intoxicants coming from him as he spoke and from the inside of the vehicle as well." Nerney told the deputy he'd had a beer when he cooked dinner 10 to 15 minutes earlier. The deputy asked Nerney to perform sobriety tests and noted his eyes were watery and bloodshot. He also performed a breath test, though the Sheriff's Department wouldn't release the results, and submitted to a blood draw before his wife was called to drive him home. Deputy U.S. Marshal Richard Tracy, a spokesman for the local Marshal's Service, said the incident occurred when Nerney was off-duty and in his personal vehicle. The 14-year agency veteran has been stationed in Tucson since January 2003, when he was promoted to his current position, one of two assistant chiefs' positions for the area district, Tracy said. He added that the incident is under review internally and that Nerney has remained on the job since it occurred. According to the Pima County Consolidated Justice Court's Web site, Nerney's next court date is May 21.