A Villager who was arrested last year after drinking at Palmer Legends Country Club has been sentenced in a drunk driving case.
Jeffrey James Taylor, 55, who lives at 410 Aldama Ave., had been spotted Dec. 22 in a Mercedes traveling 75 to 80 miles per hour on Morse Boulevard in The Villages.
A Sumter County sheriff’s deputy had been directing traffic at Fairway Christian Church on County Road 466 when the Mercedes pulled up next to the deputy’s patrol car and was blocking traffic, according to an arrest report. The Mercedes then headed west on County Road 466 and made an unlawful left turn onto Morse Boulevard.
“As the vehicle approached the first roundabout on Morse Blvd, the vehicle hit the left curb, erratically turned and swerved into the right lane, and hit the right curb. The vehicle then gained control and exited the roundabout heading south on Morse Blvd. Once the vehicle hit the straight away, the vehicle accelerated quickly, reaching approximately 75-80 mph in the posted 35 mph speed zone,” a deputy wrote in the arrest report.
A pursuit ended behind Winn-Dixie at Lake Sumter Landing.
It appeared Taylor had been drinking. He got out of the Mercedes and it was clear he had urinated in his pants, the arrest report said.
A receipt found on the floor of the Mercedes indicated Taylor had consumed three Jim Beam whiskeys for $6 each at Palmer Legends Country Club. The last four digits of a credit card on the receipt matched the last four digits of a credit card found in Taylor’s wallet.
The Pennsylvania native refused to provide a breath sample.
Last week in Sumter County Court, Taylor pleaded no contest in the case. He will lose his driver’s license for six months, has been placed on probation for a year and has been ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.
Taylor was tracked down in 2017 after an altercation over an unpaid bar tab at Orange Blossom Hills Country Club.
