A speeding driver from Nicaragua was arrested Sunday night after he was caught traveling 80 mph in a 55 mph zone in Wildwood.
A Sumter County Sheriff’s Office K-9 deputy was on patrol at about 9 p.m. Sunday when he spotted a black Nissan Frontier traveling at a high rate of speed on County Road 475 near the intersection of County Road 466. The deputy used moving radar to clock the pickup truck at 80 mph and initiated a traffic stop near the Marion County line.
The driver, identified as 28-year-old Jose Abelardo Guerrero Mendez of Ocala, handed the deputy a Nicaraguan passport. A Spanish-speaking deputy arrived at the scene to assist with the investigation. During the conversation, Mendez admitted he did not possess a valid driver’s license issued by Florida or any other state.
Mendez was issued a uniform traffic citation for driving without a valid license and a written warning for the speeding violation.
He was placed under arrest on a misdemeanor charge of operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license. He was being held at the Sumter County Detention Center pending his being turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.