A Leesburg man was arrested on a drunk driving charge after bottles of beer were found beside him when he was stopped for nearly hitting another vehicle.
Jonathan Jesus Cruz, 22, sped past a deputy going 85 miles per hour in a red Ford Escape on State Road 19 in Umatilla around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
As the deputy got behind Cruz, he veered from left to right, nearly hitting another vehicle. He then got back into the left lane before making a left turn onto Roberts Street. He continued on until the deputy turned on a siren, after which he made a right and finally pulled into a grass field on Blanche Avenue, the report said.
The deputy immediately smelled alcohol when he went up to the driver’s side of the vehicle. Cruz was unsteady on his feet when he stepped out, and several bottles of beer were found on the passenger side of the floorboard. He did one field sobriety exercise but refused the rest, though he later provided breath samples of 0.225 and 0.210 blood alcohol content, the report said…