The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
When the father of a 7-year-old went to drop his son off at school on Tuesday morning he was arrested for suspicion of driving while intoxicated after striking parking fixtures with his vehicle.
Joshua Philip Starr arrived at the Wesley Chapel elementary school in the morning to drop off his son for the day, and his car was reported as smashing his vehicle into three of the poles used to separate the parking lot area from the sidewalk.
Pasco County sheriff’s deputies went to the school to investigate the situation after receiving notification of the alleged incident.
When they made contact with Starr and spoke with him about what had transpired they alleged that the 39-year-old father behaved in a way leading them to believe that he may have been under the influence of alcohol.
He allegedly did not perform well during the field sobriety testing, in addition to reportedly failing to fall within the legal blood-alcohol percentage limits twice when he was given a roadside breath test.
The deputies conversed with Starr’s child and when he gave his version of what had taken place he allegedly told them that he bumped his head on the back of the seat when the car made contact with the poles.
Starr reportedly told the deputies that he had not had any alcohol since early the previous evening, but that he had taken Xanax about an hour before he brought his son to school.
Starr was taken into custody and booked on suspicion of felony child neglect, and misdemeanor DUI with a person under 18 in the vehicle, and he is being held in lieu of bond.
If you or someone you love is suspected of DUI or child neglect, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.