A Villager who was caught with her shorts pulled down and urinating at Lake Sumter Landing has lost her driver’s license.
Amy Lynn Griffing, 67, of the Village of Alhambra, pleaded no contest this past week in Sumter County Court to a charge of driving under the influence. She will lose her driver’s license for six months, has been placed on probation for one year and had been ordered to perform 80 hours of community service. A ticket she had received for open container was dismissed as part of the plea deal.
Another motorist called 911 while following Griffing’s white 2020 Kia Sportage at about 9:30 p.m. March 29 on Morse Boulevard, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The other motorist reported the SUV could not maintain its lane and hit a concrete curb, causing one of its front tires to go flat. The motorist relayed the license plate number to the 911 dispatcher.
A deputy spotted the vehicle at the former home of Winn-Dixie on Old Camp Road. The deputy noticed “an older white female crouched inside the open driver’s door, sitting on the edge of the foot board with both legs out. Griffing had her jean shorts pulled down around her thighs urinating on the ground.” When Griffing noticed the deputy approaching, she quickly pulled up her jean shorts. The SUV’s engine was running.
Her speech was slurred and she had the “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from her breath.” The Massachusetts native claimed she was driving from a friend’s house when she got the flat tire.
In plain sight in Griffing’s vehicle was a High Noon Vodka Seltzer drink. She also had a Buc-Ee’s thermos which also contained High Noon Vodka Seltzer.
Griffing struggled and swayed through field sobriety exercises. She provided breath samples that registered .159 and .147 blood alcohol content. A criminal history check revealed she had been convicted of driving under the influence in 2016 in Massachusetts.