Topless suspect calls behavior 'mind-boggling'

A 41-year-old Gardnerville woman accused of stealing a bottle of wine while she was topless and intoxicated told a judge Wednesday her behavior was "mind-boggling."

"I just can't believe I did this after all I've been through," Brandi Smith told East Fork Justice Jim EnEarl. "Everything was going fantastic, then this in a matter of three days. It's just mind-boggling."

Smith appeared before EnEarl on Wednesday.

She was charged with felony drunk driving, burglary and indecent exposure.

EnEarl appointed lawyer Tod Young to represent her and set Smith's next court appearance for May 26.

She is being held in Douglas County Jail on $5,000 bail for a probation violation stemming from an October 2009 shoplifting conviction.

According to reports, paramedics were called to Smith's house on May 5 for a medical assist. She said she drank four-to-five 24-ounce beers and was taken to Carson Valley Medical Center for treatment. Her blood-alcohol content was .124, according to a preliminary test.

On May 10, Smith, intoxicated and topless, reportedly stole a $20 bottle of wine from Scolari's.

She left the store, got back into a Corvette and headed toward the nearby Burger King where she stopped by the entrance to the drive-through with a tire over the curb and in the landscape.

An off-duty sheriff's deputy caught up with the suspect, removed the keys from the ignition, recovered the wine and held the driver's door closed to keep her in the vehicle until deputies arrived.

She was taken to Carson Valley Medical Center for treatment. A preliminary test indicated a breath-alcohol content of .144, nearly twice the legal limit.

The sheriff's office originally was contacted by a motorist who reported the driver of a black Corvette driving erratically from Tillman and Dresslerville in the Gardnerville Ranchos, down Centerville, nearly hitting the abutment at Lutheran bridge. He followed the car to the shopping center and watched Smith exit the vehicle and enter the store.

A search of her records indicated two prior convictions of driving under the influence in California in 2008 and 2009. Her California driver's license is suspended and there is no record of a Nevada license.

"If you keep this up, you're not going to see your 50th birthday," EnEarl told her Wednesday.