A Summerfield couple believed to be under the influence of alcohol found themselves behind bars early Tuesday morning after a vehicle smashed into a tree and the crash scene quickly turned ugly.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies were called to a home in the 15300 block of SE 80th Avenue and when they arrived, they found a gold Buick sitting on the property facing several trees. The car, which had a flat tire and heavy front-end damage, was being driven by 55-year-old Rebecca Gail Johnson and had crashed into a tree, a sheriff’s office report states.
Deputies reported that Johnson “smelled heavily of alcoholic beverages” and made several statements about not being arrested for driving under the influence. When asked how much alcohol she had consumed, she said it was enough that she was “unable to drive,” adding that she had had “several shots of vodka” around an hour and a half before getting into her vehicle, the report says.
A deputy asked Johnson to step out of the vehicle for field sobriety exercises and she had trouble maintaining her balance while walking to the back of the car. She then failed three tests and at one point said multiple times to the deputy, “I said I was drinking,” the report says.
During the DUI investigation, Gail Johnson reportedly “became emotional” when 55-year-old Philip Raymond Johnson yelled at her and taunted her while she attempted to complete field sobriety exercises. He was told several times to go back inside his residence and to lower his voice. But he continued to “scream explicit words and names” and refuse to obey orders to “quiet down” and “leave the scene of the investigation,” the report says.
Both of the Johnsons were taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail. Gail Johnson provided two breath samples that showed 0.257 and 0.258 blood alcohol content. She was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, held on $1,000 bond and is due in court Sept. 18 at 1 p.m.
Philip Johnson was charged with resisting/obstructing an officer without violence. He was released early Tuesday afternoon on $1,000 bond and his next court date hasn’t yet been set.
It’s unclear from the police reports how or if the Johnsons are related. They appear to be husband and wife, as both are listed as owners of their Summerfield home by the Marion County property appraiser.
