An Ocala man said he hadn’t had anything to drink but had a can of beer that was half-full and cold in the cupholder of his ATV when he was pulled over for driving erratically recently in the Marion Oaks community.
While on patrol at around midnight, a Marion County sheriff’s deputy observed a Polaris all-terrain on traveling northwest on Marion Oaks Lane, swerving off and on the pavement and in and out of its lane. The ATV’s speed varied from 25 to 45 mph in a 45-mph zone, according to the sheriff’s office report.
Because of the ATV’s driving pattern, the deputy initiated a traffic stop and spoke with the driver, Christopher Lawrence Hansen, 43, of 8377 SW 136th St. Hansen said he knew why he was pulled over. The deputy observed Hansen’s eyes were bloodshot and watery, and his speech was moderately slurred, the report said.
Hansen said he was on his way home from a party where people had been drinking but denied having had anything to drink. The deputy observed an open can of Michelob Ultra, which was half-full and cold, in a cup holder near Hansen’s right leg. Several more unopened cans of Michelob Ultra were in a cooler strapped to the back of the ATV and in an unopened case in the bed of the ATV, according to the report.
Hansen refused to participate in standardized field sobriety exercises. Based on his appearance, slurred speech, the smell of alcohol and the way he was driving, the deputy made the decision to arrest Hansen and charge him with DUI. Hansen was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he refused to provide a breath sample for testing, the report said.
Hanson was released on $1,000 bond.