Habitual traffic offender caught driving in 7-Eleven parking lot

A Eustis man with a suspended license was arrested after being caught driving in a 7-Eleven parking lot. 

Police observed a black Jeep SUV pulled into a 7-Eleven parking space, located at 2002 North State Road 19, at about 10:05 a.m. Saturday, according to an arrest report from the Eustis Police Department. The driver, later identified as 63-year-old Charles Clark, was sitting in the driver’s seat with no other occupants inside.  

As the officer passed by the vehicle, he ran the license plate and discovered it was registered to Clark’s sister. He looked through prior involvements with her and learned that Clark was attached to multiple calls with her, the report said. 

The officer then checked Clark’s license which revealed he had no Florida license and only possessed an ID card. It also listed him as a habitual offender with nine suspensions. These dated back to 2016 and included failure to pay financial obligations and driver’s license cancellations, the report said. 

After about two minutes, the Jeep left the parking lot heading west on County Road 44. The officer followed to conduct a traffic stop on CR 19 just north of CR 452. He proceeded to walk up to the vehicle and call Clark by name. He also informed him that he was not supposed to be driving. Clark told the officer he knew this but needed to get equipment for work, the report said. 

More officers arrived on scene, and Clark was asked to step out of the vehicle. He was arrested on charge of driving while license suspended (habitual). He was then transported to the Lake County Jail and released after posting $5,000 bond.