Early on Wednesday morning, Florida Highway Patrol troopers pulled down a 36-year-old Kissimmee man who was driving intoxicated after he was caught heading the wrong way on Interstate 4 in Orange County.
According to FHP Trooper Cody Griffith’s report, which was made public to the Orlando Sentinel on Friday, Juan Garcia Frias Franco was arrested at John Young Parkway at around three in the morning when a trooper noticed the headlights of a silver automobile approaching him while traveling east in the westbound lane.
When Griffith approached Frias Franco, he had glossy bloodshot eyes, a strong alcoholic odor, and rambling speech. He repeatedly attempted to give the trooper his debit card, but Griffith claimed that he told him repeatedly that he did not want it.
The defendant was taken to the Orange County Breath Testing Center and then to the Orange County Jail after failing a number of field sobriety tests, including a one-legged stand test that was stopped for his safety. According to the report, his blood alcohol content was 0.2 times higher than the legal limit.
According to the Florida Department of Safety and Motor Vehicles, Frias Franco is scheduled to appear in court in July for a hearing on a second-degree DUI misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of nine months in prison and a $2,000 fine.
The Florida Department of Transportation established a radar-based system to warn law enforcement and other drivers of cars who were driving in the wrong direction, but it’s unknown how long Frias Franco had been doing so or if he set off the system.
On Friday, an FDOT representative stated that inquiries regarding whether the system failed would receive a response shortly.
According to court documents, Frias Franco faces about $450 in total fines for the incident on Wednesday, which includes his DUI accusation, driving on the wrong side of the road, dim and incorrectly adjusted headlights, and excessively tinted windows.
Over ten years ago, Frias Franco was detained on a separate accusation of driving under the influence. According to court documents, the state later chose not to press charges against him despite the fact that he was arrested in 2014 after driving on Orange Blossom Trail with a blood alcohol content of.129.
The story is still evolving. For updates, return later.
