An officer was flagged down by an unknown white male repeatedly activating his horn saying that a driver was “all over the road”. This person told the cop “he’s out of it and he’s gon’na kill someone.” The officer found the vehicle and witnessed it drift to the right striking the paved curb two times. The then went through the stop bar at a red light almost going through the intersection. It then idled into the intersection where it blocked traffic and then ultimately went through the red light. The vehicle then made a left turn from the far left lane into a Burger King parking lot and pulled sideways into a parking spot striking the yellow parking concrete bumper. The driver appeared lethargic and under the influence of an unknown substance. He smelled of alcohol and admitted to taking several unknown medications. When asked for his driver’s license, he said it was stolen. Another officer arrived on scene to conduct the DUI investigation. This officer immediately observed the defendant to be impaired and smell of alcohol. The defendant admitted to taking over 8 medications including Zoloft. The Defendant performed poorly on roadside tasks and was arrested. The Defendant pretended to be asleep upon arrival at the jail in the back of the patrol car. He would continuously slide off the chairs in the jail and lay down on the floor as if he was passed out. The Defendant refused to be on camera and stand on the yellow X in the BAT room. He said he cannot stand because of the medications he takes. He then refused to submit to a sample of his breath after being told that he would be suspended for 18 months for a second refusal. He told the officer that he did not need to answer questions because he has a really good lawyer and that he would be “seeing him in trial.” The Firm took the deposition of the arresting officer who agreed in deposition that he had ruled out alcohol as the substance impairing the Defendant and only believed it to be medications. The Firm pointed out to the State Attorney’s Office that they would be unable to establish a case for DUI because of the problem with establishing a controlled substance under Florida Law. They agreed and dismissed the charges for Driving Under the Influence.
DUI & Criminal Division
