A convicted sex offender from Ormond Beach was arrested for drunk driving after being stopped with White Claws and Crown Royal in his vehicle.
A deputy observed the driver of a 2025 Honda SUV, later identified as 60-year-old John Robert Ludy, traveling east on County Road 48 from County Road 317 at 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The SUV crossed over the double solid line, almost hitting another vehicle head-on.
The deputy had to take evasive maneuvers for fear the SUV would hit his patrol vehicle. He turned on his emergency lights for a traffic stop but had to activate his sirens to get Ludy’s attention, while the SUV crossed over the center and fog lines at least three times. The SUV then pulled into Love’s Travel Center, located at 2615 W C-48, Bushnell, almost hitting the curb in the process, the report said.
The deputy approached Ludy and asked if he needed any medical attention, which he declined. Ludy advised that he did not know where he was but was coming from Beverly Hills and going to Beverly Hills. The deputy could smell alcohol coming from Ludy’s breath as he spoke, the report said.
The deputy asked Ludy for his license, registration and insurance, but he forgot and could not find it. He was observed to have watery, glassy and bloodshot eyes with slow speech. When asked to step out of the SUV, he was unsteady on his feet and had to use the vehicle for support due to stumbling and almost falling. He told the deputy he was impaired but could not say how much he drank, the report said.
Another deputy then arrived on scene and immediately smelled the alcohol coming from Ludy. He also noticed the slow, slurred speech and bloodshot watery eyes. Ludy was still unsteady on his feet, swaying back and forth and almost falling forward multiple times. The deputies had to catch him so he would not fall, the report said.
Ludy was subsequently asked to participate in field sobriety exercises, to which he agreed. His performance, which included swaying and not following instructions, led the deputies to conclude he was under the influence. He was placed in the back of a patrol vehicle as a result, the report said.
An inventory of Ludy’s SUV revealed a shaker bottle with a fruity alcohol odor in the center console. In the trunk, there was one full and one empty passion fruit flavored White Claw Hard Seltzer in a cooler with ice. The empty can had the same fruity odor as what was in the shaker bottle up front. There was also a Crown Royal Blackberry bottle a fifth of the way empty on the floorboard of the passenger side, the report said.
Ludy later refused to provide a breath sample, even after being read implied consent, the report said.
The Pennsylvania native was charged with DUI and transported to Sumter County Jail. He was released after posting $1,000 bond.
Ludy also had adjudication withheld for providing obscene material to a minor in Citrus County on Sept. 26, 2006.