A Villager driving a Tesla was arrested on a drunk driving charge while wearing shoes that did not match.
A caller reporting seeing a man, later identified as 72-year-old James Lew of the Village of Gilchrist, at about 4 p.m. Tuesday at the ABC Fine Wine & Spirits store in Lady Lake, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The caller said Lew “could barely hold the alcohol he was purchasing.” The caller provided a dispatcher with the the license plate number and a description of the Tesla, which left the liquor store and went through the drive-up at a nearby Arby’s restaurant. The caller noted that Lew had “messy hair” and it looked like he had “slept in his clothing,” the report said.
The deputy spotted Lew’s Tesla on Rolling Acres Road and followed it until initiating a traffic stop at Micro Racetrack Road and County Road 466A after Lew had failed to come to a complete stop at the intersection.
Lew denied he had been drinking. The deputy asked Lew to step out of the vehicle and he noted the New York native “was wearing two different shoes on his feet.” An unopened bottle of alcohol and food from Arby’s were found in the vehicle.
Lew struggled through field sobriety exercises. He failed to provide an adequate breath sample because he would not properly blow into the testing device.
He was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence. He was issued a written warning for failure to stop at a red light. He was booked at the Lake County Jail on $1,000 bond.
