A drunk driving suspect who claimed he was heading home from a Winn-Dixie grocery store has been sentenced to 15 days in jail.
Harvey Lee Yawn, 70, of Wildwood, was sentenced this past week in Sumter County Court after pleading no contest to a charge of driving under the influence. He was given credit for two days already served.
Yawn was driving a white Dodge pickup at 11:46 a.m. June 30 when he ran into the median on U.S. 301 near the Wawa gas station, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. Another vehicle had to swerve to avoid a head-on collision.
During a traffic stop, Yawn said he had been at a Winn-Dixie grocery store. He admitted he had been drinking and had to hold onto the driver’s door of his pickup to maintain his balance. While speaking with a deputy, Yawn stumbled and fell to the ground.
He was so intoxicated that he was transported to the UF Health Emergency Room Clinic in Brownwood for a medical evaluation. Upon his release, he provided two breath samples that both registered .157 blood alcohol content.
A bottle of Bacardi liquor and several “shooter” style bottles of alcohol were found in his pickup.
In 2023, Yawn was arrested on a DUI charge and blamed his intoxication on his impending divorce.
