A Villager has fallen nearly $200,000 behind in restitution for a 2013 drunk driving conviction that devastated two lives.
Mary Staley, 65, who lives in a rental in the Emmalee Villas in the Village of Mallory Square, was being held without bond this weekend at the Marion County Jail. She is charged with violating her probation.
The former Leesburg principal had been at the wheel of a 2013 Toyota Corolla on July 28, 2013 when she collided with a 1994 Oldsmobile driven by 59-year-old Casteria Young, who suffered multiple broken bones in the crash, which occurred in Ocala. Her passenger, 55-year James Bennett, suffered a broken hand and lost his thumb.
Staley provided breath samples that registered .134 and .144 blood alcohol content.
At Staley’s sentencing hearing, Young and Bennett offered testimony about the devastating effects of the crash, lost wages and huge medical bills. Staley did not have insurance.
Staley was sentenced to five years in prison and was released in 2019 after serving four years behind bars.
She found work as a telemarketer in Leesburg and working for True Green LLC in Fruitland Park.
By April 2024, Staley was nearly $200,000 in arrears in fines and restitution, according to court documents. Specifically, she owed $181,698 in restitution to her victims. Bennett died in 2020, but Staley was ordered to continue paying restitution to the state’s general fund.
A warrant for her arrest was issued in 2024. She was arrested on the warrant on Thursday.
Join the conversation on Villages-News.com