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Officer pleads not guilty to OVI charge

Traffic charges filed after deputies responded to report of shot fired.

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By Mark McGregor, Staff Writer Updated 10:06 PM Tuesday, February 21, 2012

A Springfield police officer was accused of drunken driving and failing to maintain physical control of a motor vehicle after a report of a shot fired in Moorefield Twp. early Monday.

Jeffrey D. Kerns, 32, pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday morning in Clark County Municipal Court, and the case was reassigned, according to court records.

Clark County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 1500 block of Regent Avenue on a possible fight between two men and a report of shot fired about 12:30 a.m. Monday, according to a report.

They found a brass shell casing from a .40-caliber weapon. No weapon was found at the scene.

Kerns was located in his vehicle at a gas station lot on the 1500 block of Moorefield Road, where he was charged with the traffic offenses. No weapon was found on Kerns or in his vehicle.

Kerns and another suspect in the Regent Avenue incident gave conflicting reports; no charges were filed in that part of the case.

The investigation is ongoing, according to the sheriff’s office.

Springfield Chief Stephen P. Moody assigned two lieutenants to conduct an internal affairs investigation. He could not say what punishment, if any, could be levied against Kerns.

“He has the same presumption of innocence until tried by the court,” Moody said. “We’ll examine his demeanor and whether he’s followed the rules of the Springfield Police Division.”

Kerns has been an officer with the division since July 2007 and has not been in trouble before, Moody said.

The charges against Kerns are the only two on file in court records.

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