An Ocala man with a half-empty bottle of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey in his cup holder was charged with driving under the influence on Saturday after a mishap in the parking lot of a Leesburg convenience store.
Leesburg Police were called to the Circle K at 900 S 14th St. to investigate a report of a blue four-door Honda that struck a “trash can post.” There officers found Gary Thomas Gustafson, 56, in the driver’s seat, trying to hide the whiskey in the center console. His eyes appeared bloodshot and glossy and officers could detect the smell of alcohol on his breath, a Leesburg Police report says.
Officers said Gustafson became verbally aggressive and used profanity and vulgar language. When asked to complete field sobriety exercises, he agreed to do so but said, “I am drunk. I already drank half a fifth of Fireball,” the report says.
After failing the field sobriety tests, Gustafson was arrested and charged with DUI with property damage. He was taken to the LPD’s booking facility, where he agreed to take a breathalyzer test, which showed his blood alcohol content to 0.197 and 0.213 – well over the legal limit of .08.
Gustafson was taken to the Lake County Jail, where he was released the following day on $1,000 bond. He’s scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on Feb. 12.
