The Defendant was seen by a Palm Beach Gardens officer stopped in the middle of the road. The officer observed that the driver’s door was open and the defendant was in the process of getting out of the driver’s seat. The Defendant continually ignored verbal commands to step away from the truck while continuing to reach around his back and into the car for something. The Defendant finally staggered backwards and was taken into custody for his safety. The officer said he appeared disheveled and his eyes were watery and he appeared sleepy. He also smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from him. The DUI officer showed up and said that the Defendant had very slurred speech and mumbled speech. His face was also flushed. When asked how much he had to drink, he said he had “more than a few”. He said he had been drinking at a comedy club. His tire on his car was flat and when asked about that he said “I don’t know what I hit.” After performing poorly on roadsides, he was arrested for DUI. He refused to give a sample of his breath. The Firm negotiated with the State Attorney’s office through a close review of all of the State’s discovery and ultimately was able to convince the State to drop the DUI charges.
DUI & Criminal Division
