A Villager is back in jail after violating his probation in a drunk driving arrest last year at Lake Sumter Landing.
Thomas Joseph Culver, 51, who lives at 1234 Dustin Drive on the Historic Side of The Villages, was booked without bond Sunday at the Sumter County Detention Center.
Culver pleaded no contest this past September in Sumter County Court to charges of driving under the influence and resisting arrest. He lost his driver’s license for six months, was placed on probation for one year and had been ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.
Culver had been driving a dark-colored Subaru SUV shortly before midnight July 25, 2021 when he struck the curb near Cody’s Original Roadhouse, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. Culver’s SUV hit a second curb before he turned into a parking lot and shut off the vehicle’s lights. A deputy saw the Kansas City native get out of the vehicle and walk away with the keys in his hand.
The deputy told Culver to “stop” several times. The deputy had to threaten Culver with a taser to get him to halt. It appeared Culver had been drinking, but he refused to participate in field sobriety exercises. He initially refused to provide breath samples, but then relented and provided samples that registered .182 and .166 blood alcohol content. He was already on probation at the time of that arrest.
