An attorney arrested last month after an incident at Wawa has entered a plea in his disorderly intoxication arrest.
Pravesh Bobby Rumalla, 54, an Ocala criminal defense attorney, has pleaded not guilty in Sumter County Court. He remains free on $150 bond.
He was arrested Feb. 23 at the Wawa on U.S. 301 in Oxford.
Rumalla and his girlfriend were “shoving each other” outside a white Jaguar SUV at pump 15, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. The girlfriend was pumping gas into the Jaguar SUV and Rumalla was trying to retrieve his phone from her. A witness said Rumalla attempted to “wrestle” with the woman while the gas pump nozzle was still in her hand.
A male Wawa employee dialed 911 while a female employee held the convenience store’s door closed after Rumalla’s girlfriend sought shelter inside.
An officer attempted to question Rumalla, who initially was reluctant to reveal his identity. It appeared he had been drinking. He claimed he had not been driving the SUV.
Rumalla eventually revealed he is an attorney and began forcefully insisting he had not broken the law.
“Do you think you know the law better than Bobby Rumalla?” he asked the officer. “I don’t think you know me, you’ll regret it tomorrow.”
Rumalla admitted he had been “partying” and said he had consumed “maybe three Jameson’s.” Rumalla was asked to rate his level of intoxication.
“On a scale from 1 to 10, I’d say an 8,” Rumalla told the officer.
Rumalla, who was born in Secunderabad, India, was arrested on a charge of disorderly intoxication.
Rumalla represented a Villager in a mentoring situation that went awry. His client was later arrested on a charge of driving under the influence.
Rumalla defended an orthopedic surgeon who practiced at The Villages Hospital after he was snared in a prostitution sting in 2016.
Rumalla defended a driver in the aftermath of a 2014 accident on Interstate 75 which claimed the life of George Phillips who sold homes for Properties of The Villages, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Chelsea Richard and tow truck operator John Duggan.
