A Villager is seeking a delay in her drunk driving case because she is planning to vacation in the British Virgin Islands.
Patricia Lee Johnson, 68, who at the time of her arrest was living on Russell Loop in the Village of Bridgeport at Lake Sumter, had been at the wheel of a red Mazda Miata when she was arrested April 22 by a Sumter County sheriff’s deputy.
A trial date had been set in Johnson’s case for Feb. 4 in Sumter County Court.
But there is a problem.
Johnson will be out of the country from Feb. 2 to 9. She will be flying JetBlue to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. In a motion for a continuance, Johnson’s attorney asked that the trial be moved back to Feb. 11.
In a filing last month in Sumter County Court, Johnson’s attorney, Gail Louise Grossman, indicated her client’s trip has been pre-paid and is non-refundable.
Previously, Grossman has made the case that Johnson’s “severe medical issues” made it difficult for her client to perform roadside field sobriety exercises at the time of her arrest.
Grossman has indicated she will call Dr. Sundeep Shah of Premier Medical Associates in The Villages as a witness at the trial. Shah is board certified in internal medicine and has been practicing in The Villages for eight years. Shah could serve as a witness to describe the medical problems from which Johnson reportedly suffers.
Johnson remains free on $1,000 bond.
