An Inverness man who told police he drank six beers was charged with drunk driving after he was stopped for speeding in Belleview.
Shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday, a Belleview Police officer was conducting stationary radar surveillance in the 11400 block of U.S. Highway 441 when he observed a black pickup traveling northbound over the hill at a high speed. Radar showed the vehicle was going 65 mph in a 45-mph zone, according to the police report.
The vehicle stopped at a red light at SE Abshier Boulevard and SE Babb Road, and the officer activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop. When the light turned green, the driver – later identified as 36-year-old Victor Hugo Munoz-Preciado – made a right turn on to SE Babb Road, crossed the double yellow lines and entered the opposite travel lanes before making a left turn into the Dunkin Donuts parking lot. Munoz-Preciado then struck a curb with both driver’s side tires before coming to a stop while blocking two handicap parking spaces, the report said.
The officer observed multiple empty Bud Light beer bottles in the bed of the bed of the pickup truck Munoz-Preciado had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and his eyes were bloodshot and watery. When asked if there was a reason he was speeding, Munoz-Preciado said he had been at a friend’s house and was just heading home. He said he drank six beers, according to the report.
Munoz-Preciado failed a series of field sobriety exercises and was placed under arrest. He was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he remained held Wednesday on $2,000 bond. He’ll appear in Marion County Court on Sept. 16.