Acting on a hunch, Lincoln Police Officer John Clarke followed William E. Parminter out of court on Thursday.

Parminter was in Lancaster County District Court for a hearing regarding his fourth-offense DUI arrest. Clarke assisted in the May 14 arrest and was prepared to testify in the evidence suppression hearing Thursday, but it was continued, Officer Katie Flood said.

When Parminter, 54, left the hearing at about noon, Clarke walked out of the courthouse and followed him down the street to a Jeep Cherokee he wasn't supposed to be driving, the same Jeep Cherokee he wasn't supposed to be driving when he was stopped on May 14 because his license had been -- and still is -- suspended.

Flood said Clarke watched Parminter get into the Jeep and head north, then pulled him over moments later at the U-Stop at 610 S. 10th St.

Clarke said Parminter smelled of alcohol, and he found a half-full can of Keystone Light in the center console of the Cherokee, according to Flood.

A preliminary breath test indicated Parminter's blood-alcohol content was 0.238 percent, almost three times the legal limit to drive, police said.