An Ocala woman was jailed on Jan. 12 after a Marion County sheriff’s sergeant watched her drive erratically on U.S. Hwy. 441.
The deputy stopped 30-year-old Lauren Rachelle Gravatt after seeing her blue Dodge traveling in both northbound lanes for about 300 feet. She then traveled slower than normal when approaching an intersection and failed to stop at a red light and stop sign, a sheriff’s office report states.
The sergeant attempted to stop Gravatt after watching her vehicle leave the roadway in the 10500 block of Baseline Road and travel approximately two feet to the right of the solid white line for about 200 feet. It took her almost a half of a mile to stop after the sergeant activated his emergency overhead lights, the report says.
The sergeant then made contact with Gravatt and reported that she was slurring her words. The sergeant said he couldn’t detect the smell of alcohol coming from inside the vehicle because of a strong odor of perfume.
Another deputy responded to the scene and had Gravatt participate in four field sobriety exercises. She failed all four and while administering the tests the deputy reported smelling a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on Gravatt’s breath, the report says.
After failing the exercises, Gravatt admitted that she had consumed three large beers prior to driving her vehicle. She was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where she provided breath samples showing a blood alcohol content of 0.187 and 0.184.
Gravatt, who lives on Almond Trail Lane in Ocala, was charged with driving under the influence with an unlawful blood alcohol content of .15 or higher with a person under 18 in the vehicle. She was released the same day as her arrest on $1,000 bond.