A resident of The Villages has been ordered to serve 30 days in jail on a charge of driving under the influence.
James Matthew Byrne, 44, of the Village of Hawkins, pleaded no contest to the charge this past week in Sumter County Court. In addition to being ordered to serve 30 days in jail, he will lose his license for one year and has been placed on probation for one year. He must also perform 80 hours of community service.
Byrne’s black Hyundai Santa Fe was found March 1 in a ditch in the area of Marsh Bend Trail and County Road 470 in the Middleton area, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department.
The driver was identified as 43-year-old James Matthew Byrne of the Village of Hawkins. It appeared he had been drinking as the officer “could smell the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from this breath,” the report said. Byrne denied he had consumed alcohol…