An 80-year-old Villager has been jailed without bond after skipping appointments with this probation officer.
John Paul Toupin of the Village of LaBelle North was booked Sunday at the Sumter County Detention Center on a probation violation.
This summer, Toupin pleaded no contest to a charge of driving under the influence in Sumter County Court.
He lost his driver’s license for six months, was placed on probation for one year and was ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.
However, a probation violation report shows he missed three meetings with his probation officer and a warrant was issued for his arrest. A violation of probation hearing has been set for Nov. 17, so it is highly likely he will be in jail until then.
Wildwood police were called on New Year’s Eve to the parking lot behind Dunkin’ Donuts at Brownwood Paddock Square to investigate a crash in which a vehicle “struck multiple golf carts.” A witness pointed officers toward Toupin who had been driving the gray GMC sport utility vehicle which had caused the crash, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. Toupin immediately admitted he’d “drank too much.”
He indicated he put the SUV in “drive” rather than “reverse” and struck a parked golf cart, pushing it into another parked golf cart. A third golf cart had been involved, but the golf cart was driven from the scene before police arrived. Toupin was transported by ambulance to the UF Health-The Villages Hospital freestanding Emergency Room at Brownwood for a medical evaluation. Once cleared, he was asked to participate in field sobriety exercises. The report indicate he performed poorly in the exercises. He provided breath samples that registered .107 and .108 blood alcohol content.
