A suspiciously wide U-turn late Monday evening led to a Leesburg man’s arrest on a drunk driving charge.
A Leesburg police officer was on patrol on 14th Street and Sumter Street when he saw a black Ford truck make a wide U-turn from the far right southbound lane of 14th Street across two lanes of traffic. The officer turned on his emergency lights and followed the pickup truck. When the truck turned onto Main Street it swung wide into the oncoming lane while driving slowly. The truck came to a stop at the intersection of Main Street and Oak Avenue.
The officer made contact with the driver, 32-year-old Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Zamora and told him why he had pulled him over. The officer cold smell alcohol on Rodriguez’s breath as he spoke and could see a large can of Modelo beer in a cup holder. Rodriguez agreed to perform the standardized field sobriety exercises and did poorly. He admitted to drinking three 24-ounce Modelo beers earlier that night and he said he did not feel the effects of the alcohol and did not think he was impaired.
Rodriguez was placed under arrest for driving under the influence and was taken to the Leesburg Police Department where he provided two breath samples which showed a blood alcohol level of .196 and .198.
Rodriguez was taken to the Lake County Jail where bond was set at $5,000.
