Additional community service was awarded to a Cortez woman whose adjudication for an alcohol charge was withheld.
Twelfth Circuit Judge Mark Singer modified a probation order in December for Kimberly C. Newton, 44, allowing her to serve an additional 20 hours of community service instead of paying $553.50 in court fines.
Singer had ordered Newton to 12 months probation and 50 hours of public service work after she pleaded no contest to an alcohol-related reckless driving charge, reduced from the initial charge of driving under the influence.
Newton had been arrested in February 2015 by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office after a deputy observed her speeding. She told the arresting officer she’d worked at the Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival that day and drank three beers without eating, according to an MCSO report.
As part of her probation order in September, Singer ordered Newton to attend DUI school and a victim-impact panel within six months and pay $721 in fines.