Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 27
Florida Deputies Arrest 76-Year-Old on 4th DUI After .095 Breath Test and Cocaine Admission
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 27

Florida Deputies Arrest 76-Year-Old on 4th DUI After .095 Breath Test and Cocaine Admission

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 27

Summary

  • Polk County deputies jailed 76-year-old Charles Ducking after stopping him for swerving on U.S. Highway 27 and charging him with a fourth-or-subsequent DUI, cocaine possession, driving with a suspended license and paraphernalia possession.
  • Ducking allegedly told deputies his license was suspended because of a DUI, said he had been drinking rum from a thermal cup, and later admitted he had done “a line” about 10 minutes before the stop.
  • Breath tests measured .094 and .095—above Florida’s .08 limit—and deputies said field sobriety tests showed multiple signs of impairment while a vehicle search turned up a small container of cocaine.
  • The arrest came four months after a separate DUI arrest in May, when he was released on bond under a condition that he not possess or consume alcohol.
  • Sheriff Grady Judd said Ducking had tempted fate too many times; the sheriff’s office said he has nine other Polk County arrests dating to 2001, including multiple DUIs.

Insights

Will this fourth DUI finally trigger felony consequences, or will systemic loopholes allow this elderly driver back on the road?
How does a repeat offender with a suspended license and strict bond conditions manage to keep getting behind the wheel?
Could a defense attorney use a 76-year-old's age to completely invalidate the subjective field sobriety tests used in this arrest?