DUI
Florida Drunk Driving Articles
DUI and drunk driving articles in Florida.
Dolphins Player Charged with Florida DUI in Miami
At police traffic barrier, Will Allen revved engine of his exotic car and refused to get out.
Miami Dolphins cornerback Will Allen was arrested around 3:30 am early Saturday and charged with DUI in Miami. Allen reportedly approached a police barricade on MacArthur Causeway set up for an earlier auto accident and demanded three times to be let through. Officers noticed that Allen had bloodshot eyes, a constant sleepy look and an odor of alcohol on his breath. While trying to conduct a FL DUI investigation, Allen revved the engine of his Lamborghini Gallardo and refused to get out of the vehicle.
Allen did submit to two breath tests, which revealed a blood alcohol content of .152% and .167%, about two times the legal limit for alcohol intoxication in Florida.
A Miami-Dade County Corrections officer said that Allen, 31, was booked on charges of driving under the influence in Florida. He was released Saturday after posting $1,000 bail.
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Daughter of Florida Supreme Court Justice Arrested for FL DUI
23-year old charge3d with drunk driving in West Palm Beach County.
The 23-year old daughter of Florida Supreme Court Justice Jorge Labarga was arrested for driving under the influence early Monday. Stephanie Labarga was stopped for speeding and having her blinker on while driving on Okeechobee Boulevard in West Palm Beach around 1:40 in the morning.
Labarga reportedly had bloodshot, glassy eyes and smelled of alcohol. She admitted to having been drinking, and on the way to be booked for Florida DUI asked the officer to let her go if she got a ride. Two breath tests registered a BAC of .173% and .177%, more than twice the legal limit.
Jorge Labarga became a Supreme Court Justice in 2009 after serving 13 years as judge for the 15th Circuit Court. His office said that ethics rules forbid him from commenting on a pending case of any kind.
If convicted of DUI in Florida, Labarga faces up to $1000 in fines, $406 in court costs, mandatory enrollment in an alcohol education program, attendance at a victim impact panel, 50 hours of community service, six months of probation, loss of vehicle for 10 days, suspension of driver’s license, and, since she had a blood alcohol content above .15%, mandatory installation of an ignition interlock device for six months. First offenders are infrequently sentenced to jail, but, depending on the circumstances of the drunk driving arrest, could be sent to jail for up to six months.
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Deputy Charged with Florida DUI
Sheriff’s deputy found passed out behind wheel of car
A Polk County sheriff’s deputy has been arrested for drunk driving in Florida after being found passed out behind the wheel of his car. On December 31, James Pruitt passed out in his Jeep with the engine running. He reportedly refused to take a breath test and failed a field sobriety test. Pruitt was booked at the Polk County Jail for driving under the influence in Florida.
Pruitt, 37, has been suspended without pay until the completion of an investigation of his FL DUI. He was hired by the sheriff’s department in 1994 as a patrol deputy.
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Postal Carrier Facing Florida DUI Charges
Man found passed out over steering wheel while delivering mail.
A postal worker in Boynton Beach is facing charges of driving under the influence in Florida after being found slumped over the steering wheel of his mail truck. Kevin Crocilla registered a blood alcohol content more than three times the legal limit for intoxication in Florida. Witnesses had contacted a fire-rescue team thinking Crocilla may be suffering from a medical condition.
Crocilla said that he had been up all night drinking wine and then drank half a bottle of mouthwash to mask the smell of alcohol. He had arrived at work at 11:00 am.
Crocilla, 29, reportedly stumbled while exiting the mail truck and was unable to complete a field sobriety test because he couldn’t keep his eyes open or his head straight. He blew .264% and .258% BAC during two breath tests. The legal limit is .08%. Crocilla said he was delivering one piece of mail to each person, and he then passed out.
A spokesperson with the United States Postal Service has not commented on the FL DUI incident.
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Toddlers Roam Street After DUI Mom Passes Out
Mother of two charged with DUI in Florida after being found passed out in minivan.
A 3-year old boy and a 4-year old girl were found wandering the streets of Cooper City, Florida around 5:00 pm on Wednesday, nearly two miles from their house. The two had got out of the family mini-van and walked off after their mother passed out in her driveway with the engine running.
Brenda Dulcos was reportedly on her way to pick up an older child from school when she passed out. When her mother failed to arrive, the daughter walked to an uncle's house. The uncle then contacted the Sheriff's department. In the mean time, the two toddlers were found, barefoot, by a good Samaritan while they were about to cross a busy road and also called authorities. They said they were trying to find their older sister.
When found by police around 6:00 pm, Dulcos refused to submit to a breath test to check blood alcohol content. While not actually driving the gold Ford Windstar, police arrested her for Florida DUI because she was in physical control of the vehicle. She was also charged with child neglect.
Brenda Dulcos wept while being charged with driving under the influence in FL. It is her first alcohol related offense. She was told she would not be allowed to drink when released, or drive with children in the vehicle. Broward County Florida judge John Hurley said the drunk driving incident was a danger to the children, and liken it to having a loaded gun with the kids around. He vowed to personally call the Florida Department of Children and Families to make them aware of Dulcos' actions.
Dulcos, 44, was being held in the North Broward jail on $4,500 bail. The children are in the custody of their father.
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University Dean Arrested for DUI in Florida with BAC Under Legal Limit
Two breath tests showed Ave Maria Dean of Students was not legally intoxicated.
The Dean of Students at Ave Maria University was charged with driving under the influence in Florida despite submitting to two breath tests that showed a blood alcohol content below the legal limit. Dan Dentino was stopped by the Collier County Sheriff's Department around 11:30 pm on September 3 for allegedly weaving in his lane. After reportedly failing several field sobriety tests, the officer initiated a breath test. Dentino registered .068% and .066% in two tests. The legal threshold for intoxication in Florida is .08%.
A sheriff's department spokesperson said that an officer can initiate an arrest for DUI in Florida even if the motorist has a BAC below .08%, when impairment is suspected. That said, she doubted the charges would stick, stating, "What the state does with it after this is up to them."
Ave Maria University officials are standing behind Dentino. In an email, the school president said “Please remember that a police charge is not a conviction; Dan is entitled to a presumption of innocence.” He went on to describe Dentino's FL DUI arrest as "an overzealous police intervention."
Dentino, 34, has been with the university for eight years. He serves as Vice President of Student Affairs and Adjunct Professor of Theology. He is a graduate of the Franciscan University and holds a Master's in religious studies and a Doctorate in systematic theology.
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Man Charged with Florida DUI after Passing Breath Test
72-year old had to walk home after being stopped at a DUI checkpoint in Cape Coral.
Vincent Tallo was driving home after an evening of dancing with his friend Mary Debenedetta when he was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint in Cape Coral. The 72-year old man told the officer that he had sipped one beer over two hours. The officer required him to perform several field sobriety tests and declared Tallo under arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence in Florida.
Tallo requested a breath test and he registered a .000% BAC. The elderly man was then taken to a portable toilet and asked to provide a urine sample. A preliminary result, which tests for 12 drug classifications, revealed something that the police did not like and they proceeded with the arrest for DUI in FL. The official result from the state lab will take some time. Debenedetta told the police that Tallo is a health-nut and doesn't even take Advil. The Cape Coral police say that they are convinced there was enough indication of impairment to initiate the arrest.
Tallo's vehicle was impounded, and he and Debenedetta, 62, were forced to walk two miles to her house after midnight. A police sergeant explained that the couple just didn't ask officers for a ride.
The couple is fighting the charges, and Debenedetta said "I want other people to not go through this ever."
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Female Wrestler Nabbed for DUI in Florida
Perez is under contract with WWE.
A female wrestler under contract with World Wrestling Entertainment was arrested for driving under the influence in Tampa Florida. Karlee Leilani Perez was stopped shortly after 1:00 am on June 14 and later booked on suspicion of FL DUI. She is part of the WWE’s development operation Florida Championship Wrestling.
Perez, 23, who performs under the name 'Liviana', is a Tampa model was signed with the WWE a few months ago. Her duties have included being a ring girl and managing Sweet Papi Sanchez. She also recently began wrestling.
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NBA Player Arrested for DUI in Florida
Reserve player for the Denver Nuggets arrested for drunk driving in Hillsborough County.
Renaldo Balkman, a reserve forward for the NBA Denver Nuggets, was arrested last weekend for driving under the influence in Hillsborough County, Florida. Balkman was stopped around 4:00 am on Saturday morning by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and after refusing to submit to a breath test he was booked on suspicion of FL DUI. He posted a $500 bond and was released.
Balkman, 25, was a first round pick for the New York Knicks but has not lived up to his billing. He was traded to Denver, where he averaged 5 points and 3.8 rebounds during his first season for the Nuggets. A team executive said he was aware of Balkman's arrest but declined comment "out of respect for the legal process."
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Sheriff's deputy cut corners during investigations of drunk driving in Florida
Prosecutors in Polk County have dropped charges against 54 defendants accused of driving under the influence in Florida. The reasons stem from a sheriff's deputy taking shortcuts in preparing DUI arrest reports and conducting tests to determine blood alcohol content.
Deputy Tex Thomas joined the Polk County Sheriff's Office last year and made 124 arrests for suspicion of DUI in FL. In a court deposition for a drunk driving case, Thomas admitted to clearing just the top portion of an arrest report and reusing words from a previous arrest. The use of such a template, rather than writing specific details and observations unique to an arrest, is a violation of procedure. In one case, he inadvertently left in the name of the previous suspect's last name. Thomas also admitted to not properly observing a 20 minute period of direct observation before conducting a breath test to ensure that the suspect did not belch, vomit or ingest something that could affect the accuracy of the test. He would include the drive time from the point of the traffic stop to the testing facility as part of the intended face-to-face window of observation.
Prosecutors felt the shortcuts jeopardized the DUI cases and they elected not to file official charges against 50 defendants and dropped four other charges. Those arrests were made between October 2008 and early July 2009.
Thomas, 27, has not been disciplined though there is an ongoing internal investigation. While he has been reassigned from targeted DUI enforcement to general patrol, he is still able to initiate traffic stops for suspected Florida DUI.
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