Man Gets On Lawn Mower On The 4th Of July

A Gainesville man who celebrated a little too hard on the Fourth of July was arrested on a DUI charge, police reported, after driving a lawn mower on a public road while drunk, knowing his driver’s license was suspended. He was one of at least 10 people arrested over the holiday in Alachua County on DUI charges.

Marion Burden, 53, of 1605 SE 13th Place, was spotted at around 6:30 p.m. Thursday driving a motorized lawn mower northbound in the 1000 block of Southeast 20th Street, the Gainesville Police Department reported. An officer stopped Burden and told him a motorized lawn mower was not an authorized vehicle to be driven on a public road. During the stop, Burden showed signs of being intoxicated such as slurred speech and a “strong odor of alcohol emitting from his person,” according to the arrest report.

Burden was not able to complete field sobriety exercises and provided two breath samples, which registered at .268 and .261 — more than three times the legal limit of .08.

When asked if he has been drinking, Burden replied, “Of course,” and indicated he had consumed a “four-pack of Tall Pauls.”

Burden then was arrested and booked into the Alachua County jail on charges of DUI and knowingly driving with a suspended license. He remained jailed Friday, awaiting his first appearance before a judge.

 

Source: Gainesville.com