A Bradenton man reportedly drinking rum and Coke was arrested Monday evening on a drunk driving charge on U.S. Hwy. 441 in Marion County.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy observed a 2012 Silver Ford Focus traveling northbound at a high rate of speed around 8:12 p.m. in the 4500 block of South Hwy. 441. Radar confirmed the vehicle was traveling 75 miles per hour  in a 55 mph speed zone, according to an arrest affidavit. The deputy then followed the speeding vehicle, but before the deputy could turn on his overhead lights to conduct a traffic stop, the Ford vehicle pulled into a parking lot in the 3900 block of SE Lake Weir Avenue, the affidavit stated.
The deputy then made contact with the driver, 43-year-old Jeremy Ray Myers, and noticed that Myers’ eyes were watery and bloodshot, and his speech was slurred. Myers had a valid Kentucky driver’s license. He told the deputy that he had been living in Florida for a few months and said he was waiting on paperwork to get his Florida driver’s license. The deputy noticed that Myers was pouring what appeared to be water into a cup with a dark colored beverage in it, and Myers advised the deputy that he was “watering down” his coke. Myers later told the deputy that the beverage was rum. The deputy requested Myers to take part in field sobriety exercises.
As Myers was performing the walk and turn exercise, he could not keep his balance and the deputy asked why Myers’ balance was off, in which Myers replied “because I’ve been drinking.”
The deputy placed Myers under arrest and transported him to the Marion County Jail. Myers provided breath samples which registered .184 and .182 blood alcohol content. Myers advised that he had been driving and drinking since 5:30 p.m. and that he had probably drank about one-third of a bottle of rum, admitting to being under the influence.
He was booked at the Marion County Jail. Bond was set at $1,000.
