Police: Man sucked pennies to beat DUI

If you’ve heard of ways to cheat when an officer administers a breathalyzer test, it was likely bad information.

Urban myths include breath mints, chewing gum, mouth wash and even putting a handful of pennies in your mouth, Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes said. But none of those will keep you out of jail.

“Not sure why people think this will skew or mask the results of the test,” she said.

An officer conducting an investigation for driving under the influence also allows 20 minutes before the test is given, Montes said. In that time, the officer observes the driver to make sure nothing is in their mouths, she said.

The claims for beating the tests have been debunked online by Snopes.com and other myth-busting websites.

But a Sebastian man may not have seen those pages before he was involved in a three-car crash in Malabar on Tuesday. Troopers said Michael Patrick Henry, 59, had been traveling south on U.S. 1 when he drove into the back of a Ford, forcing it to rear-end a third car at the Malabar Road intersection about 5:20 p.m.

Troopers said Henry, who lives in the 100 block of Kildaire Drive, smelled of alcohol and his eyes appeared bloodshot. He told the trooper he had four beers earlier that day.

After he failed several roadside sobriety exercises, he was charged with driving under the influence, according to the affidavit.

As the trooper searched Henry, he noticed three pennies in his mouth.

“I needed the copper,” was Henry’s only explanation.

The trooper allowed 20 minutes to pass before administering the blood-alcohol content test. If Henry was expecting the pennies to affect the breathalyzer, they didn’t work. His results were .16, .17 and .17. Those are twice the state’s legal limit, which is .08.

Henry also was charged with DUI property damage and possession of drug paraphernalia because the trooper found a marijuana pipe on him.

Henry posted $2,000 bail at the Brevard County Jail on Wednesday.