A 46-year-old Mount Dora woman who avoided being convicted of DUI last year was charged with it again Sunday night in downtown Tavares.
Alicia J. Rhoades, of 27025 Oak Shadow Lane, was driving a grey pickup truck on Ruby Street at around 9:30 p.m. when a Tavares police officer saw her fail to stop for a stop sign at the intersection with Sinclair Avenue. Rhoades then made a wide right-hand turn onto Sinclair, nearly hitting the officer’s patrol car head-on, according to the police report.
With the officer following, Rhoades continued west onto Main Street towards State Road 19. She continued to go in and out of her lane, almost hitting the curbed median in front of the Lake County Jail. The officer conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of Main Street and Bloxham Avenue, the report said.
The officer immediately noticed the odor of alcohol emitting from the vehicle. Rhoades struggled finding her license, registration, and insurance information. She told the officer she was leaving her friend’s house and trying to go home to Mount Dora. Her speech was slurred and her eyes were glassy and bloodshot, according to the report.
Rhoades became argumentative during field sobriety exercises as she claimed scoliosis was causing her to struggle. The exercises were halted when she failed to follow basic instructions and she was placed under arrest and taken to the Lake County Jail, where she refused to provide a breath sample for testing. Rhoades said she had taken a prescribed medication earlier in the day and admitted to drinking an unknown amount of bottled Michelob Ultra beer. She refused to answer any more questions without a lawyer present, the report said.
A check of Rhoades’ criminal history showed she was arrested by Eustis Police in February 2021 and charged with DUI, but she was not convicted. A check of her driving history showed she completed a BDI course on Sept. 13 after completing DUI school in February. Despite not being convicted of the previous DUI charge, she is only allowed to drive for business purposes, according to the report.
Rhoades was charged with DUI (first offense) and violation of a court-ordered driver’s license restriction. She’s being held in the Lake County Jail on $2,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on Nov. 1.
