A Leesburg man with a beer in hand was arrested on a drunk driving charge on Thanksgiving Day.
A 911 caller report that a red Cadillac sedan was driving erratically on County Road 44. The witness told dispatch that the car was swerving into the oncoming lane as it head southbound. A Leesburg police officer made contact with the concerned citizen who had followed the Cadillac to the Laurel Oaks apartment complex. The witness pointed the officer toward the parking spot that the Cadillac had just pulled into.
When the officer approached the car he noted that a man was in the driver’s seat and the parking lights were still on. As the driver got out of the car, the officer noticed that he had the car keys in his right hand and a visibly cold Natural Light brand of beer in his left hand. The car’s fan was still running and the hood was still warm. The driver gave the officer his driver’s license which identified him as 43-year-old Gregory D. Shorts of Leesburg. The officer could smell a strong odor of alcohol on Short’s breath.
Shorts agreed to perform standardized field sobriety exercises, but did poorly on the exercises. He was placed under arrest for DUI and was taken to the Leesburg Police Department for booking. He provided breath samples which revealed a blood alcohol level of .206 and .203. Shorts was transported to the Lake County Jail and released after posting $1,000 bond.
