Criminal Justice/ Politics

State Rep. David LeBoeuf arrested for drunken driving 

Worcester lawmaker had blood alcohol level almost four times legal limit

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STATE REP. DAVID LEBOEUF was arrested Tuesday night and charged with drunken driving, after he was caught driving with a blood alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit.  

According to the State Police, the police received at least two calls from motorists just before 10:25 p.m. Monday night reporting an erratic driver in a black SUV on Interstate 93 south in Milton. The callers said the car was unable to stay within marked highway lanes. One caller provided the car’s license plate. A caller said the SUV exited onto Route 3 south to the Burgin Parkway in Quincy.  

LeBoeuf, a Democrat from Worcester, is 32 and serving his second term in the House. He does not hold any leadership positions. 

According to the police, the car, a 2014 Ford Escape came to a stop, disabled and smoking, near the Quincy Adams MBTA station. LeBoeuf was the sole person in the car.  

A mug shot of State Rep. David LeBoeuf after his drunken driving arrest. (State Police photo)

According to the police, troopers noticed “a strong odor of alcohol on his person and emanating from the vehicle.” LeBoeuf was unable to follow instructions to perform field sobriety tests and was extremely unsteady on his feet. Officers stopped the tests or safety reasons, and based on their observations, arrested LeBoeuf for operating under the influence of alcohol.  

In his car, troopers found nine empty nip bottles in the rear of the vehicle and two cans of wine in the front cupholders, one empty and the other half full.  

The vehicle’s right front tire was missing, and the rim had sustained damage from grinding on the pavement. It was towed. 

LeBoeuf was taken to the State Police barracks where he agreed to take a chemical breath test, and registered a blood alcohol level of 0.329 and 0.317. The legal limit is 0.08, and a blood alcohol level of 0.3 is high enough to cause serious illness and blackouts. 

LeBoeuf was charged with OUI-liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and a marked lanes violation. He was held overnight and arraigned Wednesday in Quincy District Court. He pleaded not guilty and was released on personal recognizance, with a next court date of June 28.  

LeBoeuf’s attorney, Joseph Higgins, declined to comment. LeBoeuf could not be reached. 

LeBoeuf’s arrest comes amid the annual House budget debate. The House recessed at 9 p.m. Tuesday evening, according to the State House News Service. Some representatives participated in the debate in person while others were remote. 

House Speaker Ron Mariano said in a statement, “Driving under the influence is a dangerous and often deadly mistake and I am deeply relieved that no one was injured in this instance. I have been assured by Representative LeBoeuf that he will be seeking help and I will support him on his path to recovery.”  

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Shira Schoenberg

Reporter, CommonWealth
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About Shira Schoenberg

Shira Schoenberg is a reporter at CommonWealth magazine. Shira previously worked for more than seven years at the Springfield Republican/MassLive.com where she covered state politics and elections, covering topics as diverse as the launch of the legal marijuana industry, problems with the state's foster care system and the elections of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Gov. Charlie Baker. Shira won the Massachusetts Bar Association's 2018 award for Excellence in Legal Journalism and has had several stories win awards from the New England Newspaper and Press Association. Shira covered the 2012 New Hampshire presidential primary for the Boston Globe. Before that, she worked for the Concord (N.H.) Monitor, where she wrote about state government, City Hall and Barack Obama's 2008 New Hampshire primary campaign. Shira holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.

About Shira Schoenberg

Shira Schoenberg is a reporter at CommonWealth magazine. Shira previously worked for more than seven years at the Springfield Republican/MassLive.com where she covered state politics and elections, covering topics as diverse as the launch of the legal marijuana industry, problems with the state's foster care system and the elections of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Gov. Charlie Baker. Shira won the Massachusetts Bar Association's 2018 award for Excellence in Legal Journalism and has had several stories win awards from the New England Newspaper and Press Association. Shira covered the 2012 New Hampshire presidential primary for the Boston Globe. Before that, she worked for the Concord (N.H.) Monitor, where she wrote about state government, City Hall and Barack Obama's 2008 New Hampshire primary campaign. Shira holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.

Massachusetts Republican Party chairman Jim Lyons called on the attorney general’s office to investigate who LeBoeuf was with after budget deliberations. “When Beacon Hill Democrats aren’t spending our tax dollars like drunken sailors, they’re behaving like drunken sailors,” Lyons said in a statement. “Whose room was he hanging out in at the State House? Did he have time to visit any bars on Beacon Hill before driving off?…The public has a right to know who helped enable this individual to put people’s lives in danger.” 

On his State House biography and his campaign website, LeBoeuf describes his profession as a small business education advisor. He is a member of the Worcester Democratic City Committee and was on the Democratic State Committee from 2010 to 2014. He graduated from Worcester public schools, attended Clark University, then transferred to Harvard University. He has worked in affordable housing policy, economic development, and for various civic organizations. He at one point served on the board of an organization that provided substance use recovery services for Latinos. 

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