Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office
WAVERLY, Fla. - A 76-year-old Lake Wales man is back behind bars after a traffic stop during which he showed deputies the rum he was drinking and admitted to doing a line of cocaine about 10 minutes earlier, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Polk DUI & cocaine arrest
The backstory:
The sheriff's office says a deputy stopped Charles Ducking in Waverly on Thursday after seeing him swerving in the southbound lanes of U.S. 27.
A check of the vehicle's registered owner showed the owner's driver's license was suspended because of previous DUI arrests.
When the deputy approached Ducking, he smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage and noticed Ducking had slurred speech and watery eyes, according to PCSO.
When asked for his driver's license, Ducking told the deputy, "Well, I can't show you my driver's license cuz it's suspended cuz DUI. And I have been drinking a little bit right now."
Ducking then showed the deputy a silver thermal cup containing a brown liquid and told the deputy, "This here is my rum I'm drinking."
A traffic deputy began a DUI investigation and recognized Ducking from a previous DUI arrest in May, according to the sheriff's office.
Ducking showed several indicators of impairment during field sobriety tests. His breath alcohol levels were above the legal limit in Florida, measuring at .094 and .095, PCSO said.
Vehicle search & drug seizure
Dig deeper:
During a search of Ducking’s Jeep, deputies found a small orange container containing cocaine, according to the sheriff's office.
Ducking told deputies he had "done a line" of cocaine about 10 minutes earlier, PCSO said. He was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail.
He faces charges of:
- DUI, fourth or subsequent offense, a third-degree felony
- Possession of cocaine, a third-degree felony
- Driving with a suspended license, a second-degree misdemeanor
- Possession of drug paraphernalia, a first-degree misdemeanor
Ducking was previously arrested by PCSO on May 22 and charged with DUI, according to the sheriff's office.
During that arrest, his breath alcohol levels were .106 and .102, PCSO said.
He was released from jail on May 25 after posting $250 bond. As a condition of his release, Ducking was ordered not to possess or consume alcohol, according to PCSO.
The sheriff's office said Ducking has nine other arrests in Polk County dating back to 2001, including a 2001 DUI arrest. He was also arrested for DUI in Gadsden County in 2016.
Sheriff Grady Judd statement
What they're saying:
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Ducking's repeated arrests for impaired driving are a danger to others on the road.
"While we appreciate Charles Ducking's cooperation during the traffic stop, the fact of the matter is, he is lucky he hasn't yet killed someone or himself while driving drunk and high on drugs," Judd said. "He has tempted fate too many times, and he needs to make some serious changes in his life before it's too late. I am proud of my deputies for their proactive patrolling to find impaired drivers and get them off the road."
The Source: The information in this story was provided by the Polk County Sheriff's Office.