Beverly man held without bail after 5th OUI offense

SALEM – A Superior Court judge has determined a Beverly man who police say they caught driving drunk for the fifth time is a danger to the public and will remain held without bail at the Middleton Jail pending his trial.Gary R. Duvall, 46, of 457 Rantoul St., Beverly entered his plea of innocent Wednesday to operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor in connection with an accident in Lynn in January.Assistant District Attorney Kim M. Faitella asked Judge Howard J. Whitehead to detain Duvall without bail, saying there are no conditions of release to reasonably assure the safety of the public in the community.She reminded Whitehead that the court had previously held a dangerousness hearing in Lynn District Court and subsequent to the proceedings in district court, Duvall petitioned a bail hearing in Superior Court, which Whitehead heard, reviewed evidence and denied his petition.Defense lawyer Rebecca Whitehill strongly opposed her client being held as a danger and suggested a continuance until another date so she could offer live testimony from witnesses at a full hearing, but the judge declined, saying there was “no good cause” for an additional review.At about 4:40 p.m., on Jan. 2, Duvall was involved in a two-car accident in Lynn on Linwood Road when he allegedly crossed the lane and struck another vehicle.A witness told police that after the crash, he heard Duvall tell his passenger to toss out the two cups.Authorities retrieved the two plastic cups at the scene, which apparently once contained beer.Police responding to the scene said Duvall was swaying back and forth at times, his eyes were dilated and glassy and he failed several sobriety tests.Duvall kept insisting to police that his left leg was problematic and at times he could not walk on it.Whitehill maintains that there was a “mechanical” problem with the vehicle at the time of the accident. She pointed out earlier during his bail review that Duvall’s last conviction was 11 years ago and another goes back to the early 80’s.Duvall, a machinist by trade, is due back in court on March 28 for a pretrial conference.