A man driving a Cadillac was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence after crashing into a pump divider at a local Circle K.
A deputy was putting fuel in his patrol vehicle at Circle K, located at U.S. Hwy. 441 and Sunset Harbor Road in Summmerfield, when he heard a vehicle hitting a divider between two pumps at 3 p.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. He noticed the driver, 54-year-old Michael Robert Panico of Summerfield, appeared to accidentally hit the pump divider with the front end of his black Cadillac SUV.
Panico then reversed his vehicle only to drive forward and hit the same divider again. He continued forward, scraping the driver’s side front bumper of his vehicle. The deputy continued watching him and saw he looked confused, the report said.
When Panico could not move his vehicle anymore, he got out and started checking the front end for damage. He was unbalanced and used the driver’s side of his vehicle for support as he did so. He saw minor damage and tried to get back into his vehicle, at which point the deputy approached him, the report said.
He asked Panico if he was having a medical emergency, and Panico replied with a slurred and mumbled response. He said he was not having a medical emergency. Panico said the vehicle belonged to his father.
The deputy asked Panico for his driver’s license. He instead slowly got out of the vehicle, still unbalanced, and took out a piece of notebook paper from his wallet. The deputy reiterated that he needed a driver’s license, and Panico continued looking in his wallet until he found it, the report said.
The deputy explained his concerns and asked him once again if he was under the influence of any prescribed medications, alcohol or illegal drugs. He answered no to each one and was asked to participate in field sobriety exercises. He stated he would “blow on anything” and do the exercises because he was not drunk, the report said.
Panico struggled to maintain his balance during the exercises and did not follow instructions. The deputy did not smell alcohol on him, but based on the indicators of impairment, he asked for permission to search Panico’s vehicle. He consented, and the deputy found several small pieces of aluminum foil on the bottom of one of the cupholders near the gear shift, the report said.
The foils contained a purple powdery substance, which led to Panico being detained, the report said. When asked about it, Panico advised that he gave a guy that works for him a ride, and he left the foils in the vehicle. The deputy asked what the substance was, and he stated, “Drugs or something, I don’t know.”
The substance later tested positive for fentanyl and weighed 2.5 grams. Panico refused to give a urine or blood sample until he spoke to a lawyer, the report said.
The Massachusetts native was arrested on charges of DUI and possession of fentanyl. He was transported to Marion County Jail with bond set at $3,500.
He was also arrested in April 2015 for allegedly violating his neighbor’s court-ordered injunction and in March 2014 on a DUI charge in a golf cart with no headlights.