Wednesday, May 23, 2012 57° - Binghamton, NY

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Perez-Rogers charged with driving while intoxicated

A Binghamton University scholar-athlete was arrested and charged with drunk driving last month.

Three individuals were hospitalized in connection with the incident.

Joseph Perez-Rogers, a junior majoring in bioengineering and member of the men’s swimming and diving team, was arrested in the early morning hours of Friday, April 29 and was charged with driving while intoxicated and with driving with a blood alcohol content over .08, which are both misdemeanors.

Three victims were sent to the hospital after the incident, according to a source at the Broome County District Attorney’s office who asked not to be identified. Perez-Rogers was not taken to the hospital.

According to Captain John Chapman of the Binghamton Police Department, the police became aware of the incident at 1:23 a.m. on April 29. The incident took place at the intersection of Main and Oak streets in Binghamton. Perez-Rogers was brought into the station at 1:57 a.m. that morning.

Chapman said that a case was pending in the district attorney’s office. He called making an arrest for having a BAC of over .08 a “fairly routine arrest.”

Perez-Rogers would not comment on the incident Monday. The head coach of Binghamton’s swimming and diving team, Sean Clark, also declined to comment on Monday.

Interim Athletic Director Jim Norris said Clark informed him of Perez-Rogers’ arrest on the day of the incident. Norris subsequently suspended Perez-Rogers from the athletic program for violation of department policy.

The athletic department’s student-athlete handbook states, “If any student?athlete is arrested on or off campus, that student-athlete is immediately suspended from the athletic program.”

One week prior to his arrest, Perez-Rogers was named the America East Men’s Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete for his performance in the pool and in the classroom during the 2010-11 winter season. He earned a spot on the America East All-Academic Team for the second consecutive year while maintaining a 3.53 GPA.

At the America East Championships in February, Perez-Rogers won the 100-meter backstroke title with a time of 49.07, which broke both conference and meet records.

— Robert Bellon and Daniel S. Weintraub contributed to this report.

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