TAVARES, Florida—A call about a reckless golf cart driver landed a Tavares man in jail, for DUI Friday night after he ran from police and admitted he had been drinking wine all night and was drunk, according to an arrest affidavit.
Tavares Police responded to the downtown area around 9:15 p.m. Friday on a report of a man driving a golf cart who almost struck a pedestrian. The complainant stated the man was possibly drunk and possibly being aggressive with people. The man, later identified as Robert William Lodsin, 51, was pulling out of a parking lot as TPD arrived and an officer followed him several blocks until he pulled into a parking lot, according to the affidavit.
The officer stepped out and approached the golf cart and three passengers walked in one direction, while Lodsin jogged in another direction between two vehicles, causing the officer to lose sight of him, the affidavit states. A bystander spotted Lodsin and yelled out his location and officers found him walking very fast toward thick bushes.
They asked Lodsin to stop and he sprinted away before being caught by officers. Once he was caught, Lodsin, who has bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, began mumbling under his breath about someone telling him to run and he just wanted to go home, the officer noted in the affidavit. He then stated he did not mean to run.
Officers asked Lodsin to perform field sobriety exercises and he consented and “showed his normal faculties were impaired,” the officer stated in the affidavit. Lodsin was transported to the Lake County Jail where he refused a breath test and said his friends told him to run, so he decided to park and take off because he had been drinking wine all night and was drunk. He was released Saturday on $1,000 bond.
