A vehicle belonging to Air Force Capt. Crosby Shaver sits damaged in an Okinawa police parking lot in Okinawa city, Aug. 29, 2022. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
NAHA, Okinawa — An Air Force captain and a Marine Corps lance corporal, convicted of separate drunken driving offenses committed on the same day last year, drew a suspended sentence and a fine, respectively.
A Japanese court in December sentenced Capt. Crosby Shaver to 14 months in prison, suspended for three years, after she pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and crashing into two vehicles.
Shaver, who was assigned to Kadena Air Base, pleaded guilty in Naha District Court to violating Japanese traffic law and negligent driving resulting in injury on Aug. 27.
According to court documents, Shaver, 27, was westbound in the wrong lane on Route 23 in Chatan around 2:20 a.m. when her vehicle struck another car and a cargo truck. She was arrested at the scene.
One driver required a week of treatment for a sprained neck and shoulder pain, according to court documents. Another driver required three days of treatment for head and knee injuries, and a passenger required two weeks of treatment for whiplash.
A breath test measured Shaver’s blood-alcohol content at 0.06%, twice Japan’s legal limit of 0.03%, a city police spokesman said at the time. By comparison, all 50 U.S. states have set 0.08% as the legal limit for driving under the influence or driving while impaired.
Judge Takashi Kato sentenced Shaver on Dec. 22. She did not appeal the sentence, which was finalized Jan. 6, a spokeswoman for the Naha District Public Prosecutor’s Office told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday.
Some government spokespeople in Japan are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.
In a separate incident, Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Cervantes, 20, was fined $2,100 on Sept. 15 for driving under the influence of alcohol, also on Aug. 27.
According to court records, Cervantes was convicted on Sept. 15 in Naha Summary Court by Judge Shuji Shimamura.
Police at the time said Cervantes struck a parked vehicle in Ginowan, scratching its side, before he was stopped by police at 7:26 a.m.
A breath test measured Cervantes’ blood-alcohol content at 0.12%, four times Japan’s legal limit, police said.
Cervantes did not appeal the sentence or conviction, which was final Oct. 1, according to the spokeswoman.
