A drunk driving suspect was jailed after allegedly striking a police officer and damaging a patrol car.
Sebastien Nunez Rodriguez, 19, of Altamonte Springs, was driving a white work van at about 2 p.m. Wednesday at County Road 462 and U.S. 301 when he drove up onto the sidewalk and then back down into the travel lane, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. A traffic stop was initiated at U.S. 301 and County Road 466A.
His eyes were bloodshot and glassy and it appeared he had been drinking. He presented the officer with a Florida learner’s permit. The officer found that Rodriguez’s learner’s permit had several suspensions for failure to pay traffic fines.
He struggled through field sobriety exercises and provided a breath sample that registered .083 blood alcohol content. At the time he was being tested, he punched a police officer in the arm. When he was being transported in a squad car, Rodriguez ripped at wires in the back seat and pulled the clear plastic glass from the rear seat off its bracket and broke the bracket.
He was arrested on charges of driving under the influence, battery on a law enforcement officer, criminal mischief and driving while license suspended. He was booked a the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $8,000 bond.
