The Defendant was seen by a DUI officer driving on Military Trail and was swerving in and out of his lanes. This was captured on video. After drifting in and out of his lane a few times, the officer stopped the defendant. The officer noticed that the Defendant was dazed and disoriented as he spoke and his eyes were bloodshot and glassy. He smelled like alcohol and his speech was slow and slurred. His movements were also slow and when standing he was swaying noticeable forward and back. When asked how much he had to drink he said “not much.” He then changed his story to “nothing at all to drink” and that the odor of alcohol was from his inhaler for asthma. During the walk and turn exercise, he continually tried to start it without being told and then took 9 steps backwards instead of turning around and walking straight. During the finger to nose, the officer moved the Defendant close to the camera and the defendant can be seen swaying significantly and missing his nose every time. The Defendant was arrested and nasty to the officer during the patrol ride to the jail which was all captured on video. At the jail, the Defendant refused to submit to a breath test after being read implied consent. The Firm filed a motion to suppress arguing that the stop was illegal. Additionally, the firm pointed out to the State of Florida that there was a news camera crew on scene during roadsides and can be seen on the roadside video circling the defendant. The Defendant could be seen glancing at the news camera crew on multiple occasions. After pointing this out to the State Attorney’s Office, and on the date of the motion to suppress, the State dismissed the charges for DUI.
DUI & Criminal Division
