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Snapping turtle dispute in Iowa City leads to drunken-driving arrest
Lee Hermiston
Oct. 21, 2016 11:39 am
IOWA CITY - A dispute over snapping turtles led to a drunken- driving arrest for a Coralville man.
According to an Iowa City police criminal complaint, 61-year-old Christopher J. Cotant, on Thursday, approached a couple of men in a Department of Natural Resources truck and started asking them questions about snapping turtles. When the men wouldn't answer Cotant's questions, he got angry and flipped them off, police said.
Police said the men in the DNR truck drove from Coralville to the Menards in Iowa City and Cotant followed them in his Toyota Prius. He was met at Menards by an Iowa City police officer.
Cotant told police he drove to Menards and said he had not had anything to drink since his arrival around 12:24 p.m. Police said Cotant smelled strongly of alcohol and he showed signs of intoxication. Cotant failed field sobriety tests and submitted to a breath test that showed his blood alcohol content to be over the legal limit, police said.
Cotant was arrested and faces one count of drunken driving.