A Villager was arrested after going out to breakfast at a local restaurant.
An officer spotted a white Ford F-150 pickup at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Perkins restaurant at La Plaza Grande and ran the license plate which led to the discovery that vehicle’s registered owner, 49-year-old James Stevens of the Historic Side of The Villages, has been classified as a habitual traffic offender, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. The Wisconsin native has had a long history of driving-related arrests.
When Stevens got into the pickup and started to drive away, the officer initiated a traffic stop. He was arrested on a felony charge of driving while license suspended. He was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $5,000 bond.
Stevens served 10 days in jail last year after a 20-year-old woman complained about his unwanted advances at Red Lobster at Buffalo Ridge Plaza.
He had been free on bond in the that incident when he was found slumped over the wheel of a white F-150 pickup at Taco Bell in The Villages. Stevens, who was sentenced to 20 days in jail in 2022 after he was caught driving after a drunk driving conviction, appeared to be intoxicated.
In 2021, Stevens was driving a golf cart after drinking beer at Lake Sumter Landing. Stevens, who was living in the Village of Santo Domingo at the time, was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence.
