A New York man was arrested on a drunk driving charge after a traffic stop Wednesday night at The Villages High School.
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office at about 11 p.m. received a report of a silver Nissan passenger car traveling the wrong way on County Road 466, driving into oncoming traffic. A deputy spotted the car at a Circle K at Southern Trace Place. The driver got back into the car after pumping gas and began traveling at 64 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone. The car made a U-turn and was being driven in an erratic manner, according to an arrest report. A traffic stop was initiated in front of The Villages High School.
The driver was identified as 52-year-old Robert J. Cannon of Northport, N.Y.
“I was immediately overwhelmed by a distinct odor of alcoholic beverage emitting from his person and breath,” the deputy wrote in the arrest report.
Cannon struggled through field sobriety exercises. A tow truck was called and an inventory of Cannon’s vehicle turned up an empty Cigar City Brewing Jai Alai 12-pack of beer in the trunk and a six-pack of New Belgium VooDoo Ranger, with two bottles still full. A backpack contained empty beer cans and a prescription for Eszopiclone, a sedative used to treat insomnia.
Cannon refused to provide a breath sample.
A criminal history check revealed drunk driving arrests in New York in 1987 and 1988.
He was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. He was released after posting $2,000 bond.
