Bystander Stops Rolling Van During DUI Incident in Montgomery Township

North Penn Now Staff•

A Horsham Township man is facing DUI and related charges stemming from an incident that occurred on Thanksgiving evening in Montgomery Township.

According to the criminal complaint, police were dispatched to the 7-Eleven located along the 700 block of Horsham Road at 9:56 p.m. on Nov. 28 for a report of an intoxicated male who was standing outside of a white van in the parking lot. Upon arrival, police observed the van parked in the center of the parking lot, and not in any of the available parking spaces, the report states.

Police made contact with the male, later identified as 32-year-old Amir Zayniev, and stated that he allegedly smelled of alcohol and was slurring his speech while swaying back and forth, the report states. Police then spoke to witnesses at the scene, who stated that they saw Zayniev pull into the parking lot in his van, and that once parked, his wife had to assist him out of the vehicle because he was so intoxicated, according to the report.

One witness stated that once Zayniev and his wife entered the store, the witness stayed on location out of fear that Zayniev would attempt to get back into the vehicle to drive, the report states. The witness added that when the couple exited the store, the wife allegedly attempted to move the vehicle by standing outside of the driver’s side door and shifting the vehicle into reverse, causing the vehicle to roll backwards with no one behind the wheel, according to the report.

The witness then ran up to the vehicle and shifted it into park, the report states.

Police requested that Zayniev perform a series of field sobriety tests, and though he allegedly agreed to do so, the report states that he refused to follow the directions. Zayniev was then taken into custody, where he refused to submit to a blood draw by way of remaining silent.

As a result of the incident, Zayniev has been charged with one misdemeanor count of DUI along with summary counts of driving on a suspended license and public drunkenness.

Zayniev was arraigned on Nov. 29 by Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy, who set bail at $10,000 cash. He was then remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility after failing to post, but was bailed out on Dec. 2, according to court records.

His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing in front of Judge Duffy on Dec. 11 at 1:30 p.m.

Court records indicate that Zayniev was found guilty via bench trial of a DUI charge in September 2017. He was sentenced to six months of probation, along with 36 hours of community service and a suspension of his driver’s license.

(Editor’s note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause, and reflects the point of view of the police. Should the defendant choose to issue a public statement, or is later found not guilty or has the charges dropped, we will update this article accordingly.)