Holmes Beach police arrested resident Shawn Kaleta, 45, June 15 on a second-degree misdemeanor for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.
He also was charged with a first-degree misdemeanor for resisting or obstructing a law enforcement officer without violence.
Kaleta owns numerous businesses and vacation rental properties in the city and on Anna Maria Island.
A patrol officer saw a motorist around 11:30 p.m. accelerate through a turn from northbound East Bay Drive onto eastbound Manatee Avenue and continue to accelerate until it met slower traffic ahead.
At that point, the motorist began to “weave within their lane” before drifting off the right shoulder of the road and almost hitting a sign, according to a report.
The officer conducted a traffic stop after a construction zone on the bridge, where he spoke with the driver, Kaleta.
Kaleta provided his registration upon request but could not find his driver’s license, so he asked if he could step out of the vehicle to search elsewhere.
The officer allowed him to exit the vehicle and, when Kaleta walked to the passenger side, noted he was “swaying and had a stagger to his steps.”
The officer also noted that Kaleta’s breath smelled of an alcoholic beverage, his speech was “confusing and repetitive” and his eyes were “glassy.”
The officer asked Kaleta if he had any drinks or had taken medication recently, but, according to the HBPD report, he said he had not.
Kaleta still did not find his license, so the officer returned to his vehicle to search the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ Driver and Vehicle Information Database.
The officer asked Kaleta to stand behind his vehicle during the process, but he was using his cellphone and walked away multiple times.
The officer told Kaleta he wanted to make sure he was OK to drive and started conducting field sobriety exercises to determine if he was impaired.
Kaleta initially complied, but stopped taking instructions at one point and asked for an attorney.
The officer asked Kaleta to continue the exercises, but Kaleta would not answer his questions.
The officer told Kaleta he was under arrest due to signs of impairment and tried to grab his arms to put handcuffs on him.
However, Kaleta began “aggressively” pulling away from the officer and tried to walk away. He also refused to comply with the officer’s verbal command to stop resisting.
The officer brought Kaleta to the ground and placed him in handcuffs, then searched him and found a wine cork in his shorts pocket.
The officer also searched Kaleta’s vehicle and found three credit cards registered to three people, as well as a driver’s license registered to one of them.
The items were later placed in storage at the Holmes Beach Police Department.
The officer transported Kaleta to the HBPD, where Kaleta refused to provide breath samples despite initially agreeing to do so.
Kaleta asked for a medical evaluation, so the officer contacted Manatee County Emergency Medical Services.
EMS arrived and evaluated Kaleta, who they said did not need medical treatment, but had asked to be taken to the hospital, according to the report.
The officer transported him to HCA Blake Florida Hospital in Bradenton, where he initially agreed to have his blood drawn for police, but spent “about an hour” in the bathroom.
As a result, neither a blood sample nor formal interview were taken.
HBPD transported Kaleta to the Manatee County jail, where he was released June 16 after posting $620 bond.
Attorney Jason Miller of the Najmy Thompson firm in Bradenton offered a statement on behalf of Kaleta:
“Shawn agreed three times to a blood test and they decided not to give him one. The report stated that. Strange decision on HBPD part. Shawn also agreed to a breathalyzer provided calibration was shown to be accurate. So they had lots of options to fairly make this determination with tests but didn’t take those steps. Shawn was in a slight panic dealing with family health issues, too, (while) going home from his businesses that night. That’s what was impacting things. This will all be analyzed by the state attorney and we are confident this will get cleared.”
If convicted, punishment for a first-degree misdemeanor includes up to one year in jail, one year of probation and a fine of up to $1,000.
Punishment for a second-degree misdemeanor includes up to 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.
An arraignment was not scheduled as of June 16, according to the Manatee County Clerk of Court’s website, records.manateeclerk.com.