A Lady Lake man was arrested for a morning golf cart DUI after he was spotted driving erratically in the parking lot of BJ’s Wholesale Club.
Robert McCarthy, 69, was taken into custody Thursday after Sumter County sheriff’s deputies responded to complaints at the store’s parking lot at 11:30 a.m.
According to the arrest report, dispatchers were warned that the driver was driving recklessly and appeared unable to stand. A deputy arrived and watched McCarthy drive a golf cart across painted “Do Not Cross” lines, strike a curb and nearly hit another vehicle.
When the deputy initiated a traffic stop, the native of Gary, Ind., was still behind the steering wheel with the keys in the ignition. He had bloodshot, watery and glassy eyes, and his speech was slurred. The deputy noted a strong odor of alcohol that grew stronger when McCarthy spoke.
The deputy asked McCarthy to step out of the golf cart to participate in field sobriety exercises. As he stood, the 6-foot-1-inch, 300-pounder was unable to maintain his balance without holding onto the cart. When the deputy attempted to administer a standard eye-tracking exercise, McCarthy repeatedly fell backward against the golf cart.
Unable to focus or follow the deputy’s pen, McCarthy eventually gave up and simply sat back down in the golf cart.
He was placed in handcuffs and transported to the Sumter County Detention Center, where he refused to provide a breath sample.
McCarthy was booked on a charge of driving under the influence and a charge of refusal to submit to DUI testing. He was held on $1,500 bond.