COPS CORNER 02.11.19

WINTER GARDEN

Feb. 8

400 block of Plant Street. DUI. At around 11:30 p.m., a law-enforcement officer conducting foot patrol near the parking lot south of The Crooked Can encountered someone asleep in the driver's seat of a vehicle with the engine running. The officer spotted what appeared to be vomit on the center console and proceeded to conduct a well-being check on the driver. The officer knocked on the driver side window to wake up the driver, and the driver lowered his window. The driver informed the officer he had just come from the brewery where he was drinking and was taking a nap. The officer requested that the driver perform field sobriety exercises, and the driver refused. The driver was placed under arrest for DUI and transported to a DUI testing center, where he also refused to submit to a breath test.

OCOEE

Feb. 5

Clarcona-Ocoee Road. 3rd-degree grand theft. At 2:30 p.m.,  a police sergeant monitoring traffic on Clarcona-Ocoee Road spotted a blue Chrysler pass by that had been reported stolen Dec. 28 by a rental car company. The sergeant caught up with the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. The driver of the Chrysler, who had two driver licenses with different addresses, told the sergeant she had only borrowed the car from a neighbor to go to work that day, according to an arrest report. It was discovered the driver had never been issued a valid driver license. The driver was issued a criminal citation for driving without a license and charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle.

Feb. 8

400 block of E. Orlando Ave. At around 2 a.m., an officer patrolling the area of Sleepy Harbor Drive and Orlando Ave spotted a pickup truck with a tag that had been reported stolen out of Broward County. The officer immediately conducted a traffic stop, and the driver attempted to exit the pickup but was given multiple commands to stay inside the vehicle. The driver, who was then detained and questioned, said he received the vehicle from a friend in Fort Lauderdale about a year ago and the stolen tag was already attached to it. He added he was not told by the owner of the vehicle that the tag was stolen but “had a feeling” it was stolen, according to an arrest report. The driver was arrested and charged with petit theft and driving without a valid driver’s license.

OAKLAND

Feb. 9

State Road 50. DUI with prior conviction. At approximately 9:55 p.m., someone called the department’s emergency dispatch number to inform officers they were behind a pickup truck swerving all over the roadway that had twice struck a median. An officer in a patrol car noticed surrounding vehicles were giving the pickup a wide berth, and the officer conducted a traffic stop. The driver had bloodshot eyes with constricted pupils and gave off a strong odor of alcoholic impurities, the officer reported in an arrest affidavit. The driver told the officer he had consumed two beers and was on his way home. The driver performed poorly in a field sobriety exercise and was transported to a DUI testing center, where he refused to provide a breath sample to determine his blood alcohol level. It was discovered the driver’s license had expired in May 2010.