Bradenton Beach police arrested Holmes Beach resident Charles Woodson, 33, April 22 for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.
Bradenton Beach Police Officer Devon Straight was patrolling the Historic Bridge Street Pier when he was flagged by someone who said a man was leaving a bar, barely able to walk and bleeding from the forehead. The witness said the man got into the driver’s seat of a pickup truck and appeared to be leaving the area.
The officer returned to his patrol car and followed the truck onto Gulf Drive, where he observed the driver swerving on the roadway.
When Straight initiated a traffic stop, the motorist accelerated at a high rate of speed onto Cortez Road and the Cortez Bridge, then made a turn in Cortez northbound onto 127th Street West.
The driver failed to stop at a stop sign before pulling to a stop in a parking lot.
When speaking with Woodson, Straight identified the odor of alcohol and noted that Woodson had glossy, red eyes and exhibited slurred speech.
Woodson, bleeding from a contusion above his left eye, declined medical attention.
The officer requested assistance on a field sobriety test from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Woodson refused the test, was arrested and eventually transported to the Manatee County jail, where he was booked for second-degree DUI, which carries the possibility of a $1,000 fine, up to six months in jail, losing his driver’s license for six months and 50 hours of community service.
Woodson paid a $620 bond and was released.
His arraignment is set for Thursday, May 26, at the Manatee County Judicial Center in Bradenton.
— Robert Anderson