Florida Man He Says He Drove Drunk... But Only While Stopped At Red Lights

Can it really be considered drinking and driving if you only sip the alcohol when your vehicle is at a complete stop?

Spoiler Alert: Yes... Yes it can. 

A Vero Beach man is facing DUI charges despite telling cops that he wasn't drinking AND driving... he would only drink while stopped at stop signs and red lights.

Earle Stevens Jr., 69, was stopped by officers for drunk driving on June 27th after a woman called police and said the man ran into the back of her car "over and over" at a McDonald's drive-through.

When authorities arrived at the scene, they found Stevens with an open bottle of bourbon in the front passenger seat of his car. 

After learning Stevens didn't have a valid Florida license, the deputy wrote that he asked the 69-year-old if he had been drinking that day, according to an arrest report. Stevens allegedly answered "yes" and said that he had "about three drinks."

But he said "no" when asked if he had been drinking in the vehicle, police say, and instead argued he only drank at stop signs and traffic signals, when his vehicle had been at a complete stop.

When officers told the 69-year-old to get out of the car, he complied.  He also apparently left the car in drive as he exited.

A field sobriety test determined Stevens' blood-alcohol content to be at 0.153, almost twice the elgal limit, according to police. 

He was charged with DUI and driving without a license.


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