SUN COURIER FILE PHOTO

TOLEDO – A Tama County Sheriff’s deputy who was placed on paid administrative leave after being arrested and charged with OWI in early September, has resigned.

According to the Tama County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Heath Brown resigned effective Friday, Oct. 16.

Brown, 40, of rural Traer was pulled over Sunday, Sept. 6, on the east side of Reinbeck around 9 p.m. by a deputy with the Grundy County Sheriff’s Department. According to the criminal complaint, a Chevy Silverado Brown was operating was observed speeding while traveling southbound on T65 at 72 mph in a 60 mph zone. Per the charging documents, Brown allegedly displayed bloodshot water eyes and “a strong odor” of alcohol during the traffic stop. He refused field sobriety testing as well as a preliminary breath test and was later transported to the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office where he consented to a DataMaster test. A DataMaster test analyzes a sample of a person’s breath to determine breath alcohol concentration. Brown’s result was 0.099, above Iowa’s legal limit of 0.08% for drivers 21 or older.

Brown was charged with operating while under the influence – first offense, a serious misdemeanor. Through his attorney, Brown filed a written arraignment and plea of not guilty to the charge on Thursday, Oct. 22, in Grundy County District Court.

A jury trial has been set for early December in Grundy Center.

Brown was first hired by the Tama County Sheriff’s Office back in 2019.