Richard Weston "Wes" Retherford (born March 14, 1984) is a former member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in Ch ...

. He represented the 51st district which comprises Ross Township, Hamilton and Fairfield, all located in Butler County, Ohio.

Life and career

Retherford is a lifelong resident of Butler County and a graduate of

Talawanda High School Talawanda High School (THS) is a public high school in Oxford, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Talawanda School District and serves students in grades 9– 12. It was created in 1956 with the consolidation of three Butler C ...

. Following high school, he enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and served until 2004. Currently, Retherford is employed as a mortician's assistant. He lives in Hamilton, Ohio with his wife and two children.

Ohio House of Representatives

In 2012, Retherford opted to run for an open seat in the

to succeed Courtney Combs who was term limited. Unopposed in the Republican primary, he went on to defeat Democrat Mark Hardig in the general election with 56.66% of the vot

In January 2013, Retherford announced that he had been assigned to the following House Standing Committees: Insurance, Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Military and Veteran Affairs. He was also elected by his peers to serve as the Vice-Chairman of the bipartisan House Veteran's Caucus.

Arrest

On March 12, 2017 Retherford was arrested after being reported to police for passing out in his car at a McDonald's drive-thru. Retherford was charged with "improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, a felony, and operating a vehicle while under the influence, a first-degree misdemeanor." The Butler County Sheriff's Office released the 911 call made that led to Retherford's arrest, who was allegedly passed out in his Chevy Silverado as it was running in the drive-thru of a McDonald's in Liberty Twp. A woman, who was with her daughter, called for law enforcement at 3:23 a.m. Sunday, March 12, 2017. The caller said the man, later identified as Retherford, was sitting in the drive-thru and "he's not even up to where he orders. He's just sitting there." The incident report states Retherford had a Glock model 23 with 15 40-caliber rounds in a magazine and one round in the chamber in his vehicle. The weapon was holstered inside a compartment underneath the center armrest. Retherford was transported to the Ohio State Highway Patrol post to take a breathalyzer test, which he refused. He was then transported to the Butler County Jail.

References

External links

Retherford for State Representative
''campaign site'' 1984 births Living people Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Politicians from Hamilton, Ohio United States Marines 21st-century American politicians {{Ohio-OHRepresentative-stub