A Leesburg man was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence when officers found him asleep at a gas pump for two hours.
Officers responded to Sunoco, located at 413 S. U.S. Hwy. 27/441 in Lady Lake, around 1:56 a.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department.
The store attendant told officers that 55-year-old David Mitchell Holly was asleep in his vehicle at the gas pump for about two hours before their arrival. One of the officers approached Holly sleeping in his truck at a gas pump. The truck was still running and parked, the report said.
The officer tried to wake Holly by announcing his presence and knocking on the rear window, but he was unable to wake him after two attempts. Another officer tapped him on the arm three times and was finally able to wake him. He appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance and began muttering undiscernible statements to the officers. Also, his eyes were bloodshot, glassy and watery, the report said.
One of the officers noticed Holly had a tablet, a torch lighter and cash in his lap. He was ordered to step out of the vehicle and complied after about three minutes. He tried to get out of the vehicle without first taking off his seatbelt and was reminded by officers to remove it. He continued to try getting out without doing so. After about three minutes, he took off his seatbelt and stepped out of the vehicle, the report said.
Holly was then asked why he had a torch lighter with him, and he explained that he uses it for many things like cutting rope. He was also asked to participate in field sobriety exercises and led to a level and well-lit area of the parking lot, the report said.
During the exercises, Holly repeatedly did not follow or comprehend basic instructions. He did exercises incorrectly, using his arms for balance and almost falling in some cases. He stopped counting at one point during the last exercise and began talking about irrelevant information. These indicators led the officers to conclude that Holly was driving under the influence, so they placed him under arrest and took him to Lake County Jail, the report said.
Upon arrival at the jail, Holly agreed to submit to a breath test that would ultimately result in two samples of 0.00g/210L. He also provided a urine sample to be submitted for urinalysis with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. However, he refused to answer any questions and instead requested an attorney, the report said.
Holly was charged with DUI with a mandatory court date of April 23. He was released from jail after posting $1,000 bond.