A pretrial hearing for the Rev. Peter Petroske, accused of driving drunk and naked Aug. 2, was adjourned Thursday afternoon.Nineteenth District Richard Wygonik approved the adjournment at the request of Petroske’s attorney, Edward Zelenak.
Petroske is accused of indecent exposure and operating under the influence of alcohol, both misdemeanors. He had been the head priest at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, but was placed on administrative leave by the Archdiocese of Detroit after he was arrested.
Zelenak said that Petroske has been at an in-patient alcohol rehabilitation center in Downingtown, Pa., since Aug. 10. Petroske voluntarily entered the program at the St. John Vianney Center, which is geared toward the clergy and religious community, and is expected to be there for about 60 more days.
Wygonik set the new pretrial hearing for 1 p.m. Dec. 27. He ordered that Petroske attend the hearing, and said that it wouldn’t be postponed.
Zelenak said after the hearing that he had not yet seen the police report. He also said that police gave him a laptop they seized out of Petroske’s trunk days after the arrest.
He said that Petroske had a clean driving record, and has received hundreds of letters of encouragement and support from parishioners and other friends.
Petroske, who was ordained Sept. 14, 1984, in Marquette, had been at Sacred Heart since 2008. He has worked at several parishes in the Upper Peninsula and metro Detroit, including 14 years at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Southgate.
Petroske was pulled over in a 2002 Volkswagen Passat at about 11 p.m. Aug. 2 near Garrison and Howe streets, close to Sacred Heart.
“I was uh ... hot ... I like to drive around naked,” he told an officer. “I don’t know what to say. ... I’m embarrassed.”
The officer wrote in a report that Petroske’s speech was slurred and his eyes were red and glassy. The officer smelled a “strong odor of intoxicants” on Petroske’s breath.
His blood-alcohol level was 0.09 percent; under Michigan law, 0.08 percent or higher is considered drunk.
A man called 911 to say that he saw a naked man driving near Telegraph Road and Michigan Avenue. Police said Petroske drove on Michigan Avenue to Military to Garrison. He allegedly tried to drive around a police car.
In addition to the church, Sacred Heart, 22430 Michigan Ave., has a school for preschoolers to eighth-graders.