A Villager who drank margaritas at a country club and then climbed behind the wheel has lost his driver’s license.
Joseph David Koch Jr., 71, of the Village of Summerhill, entered a plea of no contest this past week in Sumter Court Court to a charge of driving under the influence. He will lose his driver’s license for six months, has been placed on probation for one year and has been ordered to perform 80 hours of community service.
A woman dialed 911 on March 26 and told a dispatcher that she saw Koch leaving Glenview Country Club and she feared he was possibly “too intoxicated to drive safely,” according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy arrived on the scene and found Koch at the wheel of his red 2020 Toyota RAV4 as he was leaving the parking lot. When the deputy initiated a traffic stop and approached the vehicle, he “could immediately smell the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage.”
Koch told the deputy he was “having a bad day because his girlfriend was flying out to help her boyfriend who was dying of cancer.” Koch said he had offered to fly out with his girlfriend, but she said no. He said he went to the country club and consumed three margaritas.
During field sobriety exercises, the Pennsylvania native “fell to the ground due to his intoxication level.” He provided breath samples that registered .180 and .174 blood alcohol content. A search of his vehicle turned up three unopened Sutter Home brand lemonade wine cocktail bottles in a plastic bag.
