St. Johns County deputies said they found a driver Wednesday asleep behind the wheel of a running car with an open bottle of vodka, which had a straw in it, next to him.
They arrested the driver, Jody Johns, who bonded out of jail on Friday.
Deputies also found two shotguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in his car.
Deputies said Johns was in the parking lot of Treaty Park in St. Augustine, where Rosie Lenahan brings her kids every week to play.
“That’s really scary. I can’t even believe that. It’s making me think twice about when I come to these parks and stuff,” said Lenahan.
St. Johns County deputies also arrested Johns last month and charged him with DUI and damage to property, and DUI and serious bodily injury to another.
In July, Johns pleaded guilty to careless driving in Duval County.
“But how many times has he gotten away with it and endangered himself as well as others on the road?” said Action News Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson. “It’s not worth the risk and there is no reward at the end. It’s not worth the consequences.”
It’s a problem that becomes even more common around the holidays.
Forty percent of traffic deaths during the holidays involve a drunk driver, compared to 28 percent during the rest of December.
Cox Media Group
