After crashing his SUV into another car at the gated entrance to his Florida neighborhood, a man crashes through the entrance gate and comes to a stop. He then runs, naked, carrying his dog, into his home. An officer goes to the man’s home and finds him lying in bed with blood on his body and the bed sheets. As medical personnel treat him, the man becomes combative and kicks the officer, which leads to the man being tased. He is eventually charged with D.U.I. (second offense), leaving the scene of an accident, criminal mischief, resisting arrest, and battery on an officer. The incident was reported by the Panama City News Herald.
The state attorney’s office has not yet received the man’s medical records, which will include the result of his blood alcohol test. It would be interesting to know the results of that test. Apparently, no field sobriety tests were performed by the naked man. No word on the condition of his dog.
The defendant has not yet been convicted or sentenced in Florida. If this were a second offense D.U.I. (O.V.I.) in Ohio, the penalties would include a mandatory jail sentence of ten days to six months, a mandatory license suspension of one year to five years, a mandatory fine, mandatory alcohol treatment, mandatory yellow license plates, and a mandatory ignition interlock device on his car. These penalties are in addition to whatever sentence he may receive for the other offenses.
Not all D.U.I. cases are the same. What could have ended up as charges of D.U.I. and Failure To Control turned into a much more complicated situation. Given the long list of charges, it’s surprising the man was not also charged with Public Indecency and Cruelty to Animals.