A gate attendant in The Villages helped Sumter County sheriff’s deputies on Monday night apprehend a drunk driving suspect in a golf cart.
An attendant at the Cazares Avenue gate said a man in a golf cart had driven up and said he was lost and looking for his residence, according to an arrest report from the sheriff’s office. It smelled as if the man had been drinking and the attendant called law enforcement. When deputies arrived, Community Watch was already on the scene with 67-year-old Steve Stacey Lightner of the Village of Country Club Hills. When a deputy approached Lightner, still seated in his golf cart, and asked for a driver’s license, Lightner first handed the deputy his Villages ID and then his debit card. It was later discovered that Lightner’s driver’s license had been permanently revoked in 1997 for multiple DUI convictions.
Lightner also had liquor in a wine glass in the cupholder of the golf cart, the report indicated.
While attempting to perform field sobriety exercises, Lightner became frustrated and told a deputy, “Take me in.” He provided breath samples that registered .182 and .174 blood alcohol content.
He was arrested on a felony charge of driving under the influence and cited for having an open container in his golf cart. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center on $10,000 bond.
