CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Local pastor and talk show host Michael Agnello was arrested early Sunday and charged with aggravated DUI after being pulled over on Interstate 64.

Agnello, who co-hosts an afternoon talk show on WCHS 58 Radio, was driving west near mile marker 52 in a white four-door Jeep when he began swerving into the other lanes of traffic and running off the roadway, according to the criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.

Agnello, 57, of Charleston was pulled over at 1:30 a.m. for driving erratically. Dunbar Police Cpl. M.W. Lester noticed that his vehicle smelled strongly of alcohol and his eyes were glassy.

Agnello admitted to having a few drinks before getting behind the wheel. He registered .179 during a roadside Breathalyzer exam, according to the complaint; he also failed all three field sobriety tests.

Agnello was arrested for DUI and brought to the Dunbar Police Department, where be blew a .173 on an Intoximeter, causing police to charge him with an aggravated DUI. The legal limit is .08.

Anyone with a blood-alcohol content level greater than .15 can be charged with aggravated DUI.

The pastor is no stranger to making headlines in Charleston. He was at the center of a 1988 New Life Church scandal that rocked his congregation and caused him to leave Charleston.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Local pastor and talk show host Michael Agnello was arrested early Sunday and charged with aggravated DUI after being pulled over on Interstate 64.

Agnello, who co-hosts an afternoon talk show on WCHS 58 Radio, was driving west near mile marker 52 in a white four-door Jeep when he began swerving into the other lanes of traffic and running off the roadway, according to the criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.

Agnello, 57, of Charleston was pulled over at 1:30 a.m. for driving erratically. Dunbar Police Cpl. M.W. Lester noticed that his vehicle smelled strongly of alcohol and his eyes were glassy.

Agnello admitted to having a few drinks before getting behind the wheel. He registered .179 during a roadside Breathalyzer exam, according to the complaint; he also failed all three field sobriety tests.

Agnello was arrested for DUI and brought to the Dunbar Police Department, where be blew a .173 on an Intoximeter, causing police to charge him with an aggravated DUI. The legal limit is .08.

Anyone with a blood-alcohol content level greater than .15 can be charged with aggravated DUI.

The pastor is no stranger to making headlines in Charleston. He was at the center of a 1988 New Life Church scandal that rocked his congregation and caused him to leave Charleston.

Agnello moved to West Virginia in 1986 after befriending then-New Life Church pastor Davy Jo Hissom, who encouraged Agnello to preach at his small church in South Charleston.

Hissom died in a plane crash shortly after Agnello made the move and he took over as minister for the church. Agnello, who was married at the time, left two years later after admitting to an affair with Hissom's widow, Rhonda Hissom, a fellow New Life minister.

Agnello left Charleston for two years before returning in 1990 to work with a new ministry, God's Victorious Army in South Charleston.

He has worked as a "certified senior adviser" and recently served on Gov. Joe Manchin's transition team on senior issues. He has received the Golden Apple Broadcaster of the Year Award from the West Virginia Education Association and continues to be a highly sought speaker and presenter for various organizations and events, according to the WCHS Radio 58 Web site. 

His views and experience made him a popular guest on many talk shows, and his popularity soon landed him a job, according to the Web site.

Agnello was able to post a $5,000 bond on the DUI. He could not be reached Monday.

If found guilty of the offense, Agnello could spend two days to six months in jail and be fined up to $1,000. No hearing date has been set yet. 

Reach Kathryn Gregory at kathr...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5119.