A sex offender from Summerfield was arrested for driving under the influence after being stopped with empty bottles of alcohol and ammunition.
A deputy stopped 44-year-old Daniel Curtis Flynn in the 4700 block of East Highway 40 in Silver Springs at 10 p.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. His vehicle, a black pickup truck, had been seen swerving around other vehicles and was unable to stay in its lane.
When speaking to Flynn, the deputy immediately recognized the odor of alcohol. Flynn fumbled through his wallet and tried to speak, but it was difficult to understand his slurred speech. The deputy asked him to speak up, to which he apologized and stated he could not find his driver’s license. He instead told the deputy his name, the report said.
Flynn then agreed to participate in field sobriety exercises. As he stepped out of his vehicle, the deputy noticed several open beers and empty bottles of liquor in the passenger foot well and the driver’s door. He proceeded to do the exercises, during which he lost his balance and struggled to follow directions, the report said.
His performance led the deputy to conclude he was under the influence. An inventory of his vehicle confirmed there were several empty bottles of Fireball, empty Busch Light beers, unopened Busch Light beers and ammunition for a firearm under the driver’s seat, the report said.
A check of Flynn’s criminal history revealed he was convicted of lewd and lascivious battery of a victim between 12 to 15 years of age on April 7, 2008. He was a convicted felon and a sexual offender who was not allowed to possess a firearm or ammunition, the report said.
Flynn advised that the ammunition and all of the alcohol found in the vehicle belonged to the previous owner. He had just bought the truck two days prior. However, his claim that the fresh, brand-new beer found alongside the ammunition did not belong to him was highly improbable, the report said.
He later agreed to provide a breath sample, but would stop intermittently. He kept giving good breaths for several seconds and then stopped. It seemed he purposefully avoided giving good breath samples several times, the report said.
On the second attempt, Flynn gave a partial breath sample of 0.173g/210L. The first and third attempts timed out due to the volume not being met. The deputy tried to coach him on how to give a proper breath sample, only for Flynn to claim he was unable to breathe correctly, the report said.
Flynn was ultimately arrested on charges of DUI, refusal to submit DUI testing and possession of weapon or ammo by a convicted felon. He was booked at Marion County Jail without bond.
He was also arrested in Oct. 2020 for repeatedly failing to list a new address and Feb. 2018 on drug charges in the parking lot of the MVP Athletic Club at Brownwood.