A New Yorker received a stiff sentence as the result of his arrest last year on a drunk driving charge after leaving a popular restaurant in The Villages.
Robert J. Forberg, 56, of Oakdale, N.Y., is currently serving a 30-day sentence at the Sumter County Detention Center following his a court appearance last week. He pleaded no contest to a charge of driving under the influence.
Judge Paul Militello sentenced Forberg to no less than 30 days in jail, placed him on probation for one year and ordered him to perform 80 hours of community service. He will also lose his driver’s license for six months.
Forberg was driving a black four-door Volkswagen shortly before 11 p.m. June 15 when he was pulled over at Morse Boulevard and Carrera Drive for having an expired license plate. Forberg claimed the vehicle was a rental and he was unaware of the expired license plate, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
“The defendant was sweating and had bloodshot eyes. I could also smell a strong odor of alcoholic beverage emitting from his breath,” the deputy wrote in the arrest report.
Forberg told the deputy he had been at the Lighthouse Point Bar & Grille.
Forberg failed field sobriety exercises and provided breath samples that registered .202 and .201 blood alcohol content.
A criminal history check revealed Forberg has two DUI convictions in New York, one in 1988 and another in 2007.
