Myrtle Beach Pelicans coaching staff manager charged with DUI, failing to stop for police

Myrtle Beach Pelicans coaching staff manager was arrested Thursday in North Myrtle Beach on charges related to driving under the influence and failing to stop for police, according to authorities.

The Pelicans won the 2015 Carolina League Championship and the Mills Cup this season, which ended Wednesday. This is the first title for the club since 2000 and the third overall for the franchise.

Mark Landon Johnson, 40, of Perry, Ga., was arrested by North Myrtle Beach police at 7:03 a.m. Thursday and charged with improper lane change, transporting alcohol in a vehicle with a broken seal, failure to stop for a blue light and DUI, according to jail records.

Johnson was released at 1:10 p.m. Thursday on $2,767 bail, according to jail records.

Officials with the Pelicans and Johnson could not be reached Friday morning.

Johnson was announced as a field staffer for the Pelicans in December 2014 after the Class A-Advanced team became affiliated with the Chicago Cubs. It is his first season with the team.

In a police report, an officer was told by a person that a vehicle was swerving all over the road and almost caused a crash at 5:45 a.m. Thursday. The officer went to find the vehicle and as he pulled up next to a silver 2016 Kia SUV on Barefoot Resort Bridge Road the driver swerved over and nearly hit the police car.

The officer got behind the Kia, activated his blue lights and siren and tried to stop the SUV, according to the report. The driver failed to stop at first before stopping at Greenbriar Apartments.

Johnson was the driver and got out of the SUV and approached the officer, who then told Johnson to put his hands on his head and turn around, according to the report. Johnson was handcuffed and put inside the police car and the officer noted he could smell alcohol.

Officers found a red cup with yellow liquid that smelled of alcohol inside the SUV, according to the report. Johnson was taken to the North Myrtle Beach Police Department where he was given a field sobriety test and he failed several of the tests.

Johnson told officers he didn’t know what day it was and thought it was about 12 p.m., instead of 6:15 a.m., according to the report. Johnson told police he had drank about eight drinks at the Pelicans baseball field and that the cup probably had vodka and water inside.

Johnson gave a breathalyzer that registered 0.22 percent before the officer jailed him, according to the report. The legal limit in South Carolina is 0.08 percent.

In a biography on the team’s website, Johnson was named Manager of the Year in the Midwest League for his work with the Cubs’ Class-A Kane county Cougars in 2014.

Johnson has worked with the Cubs for five seasons and was the sixth Pelicans manager in team history, according to the team’s website. Johnson started managing in 2011 with Class A-Short Season Boise and took the Hawks to back-to-back postseason appearances, their first playoff berths since 2006.

Johnson retired as a catcher in 2010, after a 17-year professional career. He played in parts of eight major league seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals, according to the team’s site.

In 332 big league games, Johnson hit .218, 16 home runs, and knocked in 83 runs, according to the site. The White Sox first round pick from 1994 has Carolina League experience, having played for Prince William in 1996 and Winston-Salem in 1997 while a member of the White Sox organization.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 10:05 AM with the headline "Myrtle Beach Pelicans coaching staff manager charged with DUI, failing to stop for police."