An unlicensed driver from Mexico was arrested Friday evening after he was pulled over for running a stop sign in Lake Panasoffkee.
A Sumter County sheriff’s deputy was on patrol at about 5:52 p.m. when he spotted a grey Honda passenger car with Texas license plates fail to come to a complete stop at the intersection of County Road 437 North and County Road 470. The deputy initiated a traffic stop in the parking lot of a nearby Dollar General.
The driver, identified as 29-year-old Miguel Angel Zuniga Bermudez, handed the deputy an identification card from his native country of Mexico. When asked if he had ever been issued a driver’s license anywhere, Bermudez admitted that he had not. A subsequent check by dispatch confirmed he did not possess a valid driver’s license in any U.S. state or territory.
Bermudez was issued a uniform traffic citation for driving without a valid license and a written warning for the stop sign violation.
He was placed under arrest on a misdemeanor charge of operating a motor vehicle without a valid license. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $500 bond.