Sebring Man Charged With 4th DUI
By JOE SEELIG

SEBRING — If convicted, a Sebring man faces possible prison time after he was arrested for the fourth time in six years on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI).

David Wayne Martin, 45, of 79 Cherokee St., was free Wednesday on $20,000 bail after reportedly failing a roadside sobriety test administered Monday night by a Highlands County sheriff’s deputy and refusing to submit to a breath alcohol test at the jail.

He was also cited on a charge of failing to signal when changing lanes.

According to a sheriff’s arrest report, Martin’s business truck, a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500, caught the attention of sheriff’s deputy Daniel Danley at about 10:03 p.m. as he traveled south on U.S. 27, winding in and out of traffic.

“The truck didn’t use any signal when changing lanes,” Danley wrote.

The driver changed lanes abruptly several times, reportedly exceeding the speed limit traveling at about 60 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone, before exiting U.S. 27 at Hammock Road.

“I observed the truck drift off the roadway and onto the right shoulder throwing up grass and debris from the tires of the truck,” Danley reported. “The truck swerved back onto the roadway. Due to the driving pattern of the truck I felt the driver may be impaired, having problems with his vehicle or have a medical issue.”

He pulled over the driver, later identified as Martin, at Queenswood Drive on Hammock Road on the right shoulder.

The driver was thumbing through his papers and was unable to produce a valid registration, the report states, handing the deputy two expired registrations. Martin’s driver’s license was valid according to a computer check and he had no warrants.

Danley reported that he saw Martin hold onto the truck door as he got out and that he detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage.
He admitted he drank two beers, the report states.

Martin consented to a field sobriety test and reportedly was not able to complete the tasks he attempted.

He reportedly told Danley he was in a hurry to get home because “his truck didn’t have a heater and he was cold.”

At the jail Martin refused to answer any more questions, but took the first breath test, then he refused to supply the second sample, the report states.

A copy of Martin’s criminal history revealed he was charged by the Florida Highway Patrol with DUI on May 20, 2000, and again on Feb. 18, 2001, the report states. On March 8, 2001 he was arrested again on a DUI charge by the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office.

Without getting into specifics of Martin’s case, if convicted he could face up to a maximum of five years in prison and, or fines and court costs, according to a felony court spokesperson and a spokesperson with the state attorney’s office.