The defendant was driving erratically and aggressively weaving in and out of traffic on busy congested Okeechobee Blvd at 7:00 at night. A civilian witness calls the police when he sees the driver drinking out of a wine bottle while driving the car and speeding and changing lanes aggressively. Citizen complainant stays on the phone and follows the defendant until a deputy arrives and starts following the defendant. The deputy testified that defendant’s vehicle was weaving back and forth in the lanes, driving onto the swale, almost hit a pedestrian walking his dog and then jerked the car forward when he came to a stop for the officer. The defendant had slurred speech, a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, red glassy and hazy eyes. The deputy testified that the defendant attempted to conceal a partially consumed bottle of wine and vodka in the center consol of the vehicle. He also testified that the defendant was trembling and shaking and could not keep his balance during any field sobriety exercises. The defendant could not walk heel to toe, did not keep his foot on the line, and swayed while walking. During the one leg stand, defendant put his foot down and swayed. During the finger to nose, the defendant swayed while standing, kept his finger on his nose instead of bringing it back down as instructed and missed the tip of his nose on numerous occasions. The deputy arrested defendant for DUI and during the ride over to the Breath Alcohol testing facility defendant stated “I’m going to refuse that test, you are never going to prove that I was drunk.” Defendant refused the breath test at the BAT facility. Verdict: Not Guilty.
DUI & Criminal Division
