On February 9, 2012 at approximately 3:28 am a Hillsborough county Deputy arrived at the intersection of Silver Forrest Lane and Livingston Ave. The Deputy observed a 2 door BMW stopped with its front end up on the grassy area of the northwest corner of the intersection. The rear passenger side tire was on the westbound side of Silver Forrest Lane. The Deputy was responding to a suspicious vehicle call and made contact with the driver of the vehicle who was asleep in the driver’s seat with the engine running. The deputy called for a DUI investigator. The DUI deputy arrived and detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from the Defendant’s breath. The deputy also noticed that his eyes were glassy and watery. The Defendant was requested to submit to field sobriety exercises. He consented to the HGN test which showed multiple clues of impairment. After completion of this exercise, the Defendant refused to participate in any more tests. The Defendant was then placed under arrest for DUI. He initially refused to provide a breath sample, but after being read Florida’s Implied Consent law the Defendant changed his mind and provided the sample. The Defendant had a prior DUI arrest in 2010 and refused to provide a sample during that arrest. The results of the breath test were .140 and .145. Result: The case was set for trial but before the trial began, the State dropped the DUI charge.
DUI & Criminal Division
