An allegedly intoxicated Ocala man was jailed early Thursday morning after supposedly running into a ditch in Belleview and damaging the headlight on his vehicle.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy was responding to a call about a suspicious vehicle being stuck in a ditch when he observed a silver Ford Mustang traveling toward him on SE Hwy. 25. The damaged car matched the description of the suspicious vehicle, so the deputy performed a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, 62-year-old Lloyd Anthony Steele.
Another deputy was called to the scene and observed that Steele’s eyes were bloodshot and watery and his pupils were dilated in the direct light of his flashlight. The deputy also noted the “overwhelming odor of intoxicating beverages” and saw two bottles of Jameson Whiskey on the passenger-side floorboard of the vehicle.
Steele struggled through field sobriety exercises, including tell the deputy that his highest level of education was “15” and then reciting the alphabet incorrectly. He was taken in custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he provided breath tests showing .146 and .145 blood alcohol content, a sheriff’s office report states.
Steele, who lives at 1 Oak Ct. in Ocala, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He was released Friday on $1,000 bond and is due in court May 13 at 1 p.m.