‘He needs to stay locked up’: Deputies arrest Florida man for 6th DUI
POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Deputies in Florida arrested a man after they say he drove drunk, crashed his car, and then tried to leave the scene.
In a news release, deputies with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said they found Kevin Patrick wet and covered in grass and dirt walking away from the scene of a crash early Thursday morning. The crash, approximately a mile from where Patrick was arrested, left a 2019 Kia Sportage lying on its roof with an open container of alcohol outside the vehicle.
Deputies said when they approached Patrick, they saw him drop something, later determined to be the key to the Kia Sportage. Patrick told officers he had found the key and was “thinking someone on Facebook would report it missing” and he would then return it. Patrick told deputies the vehicle belonged to his roommate, who is currently in jail.
Patrick has a lengthy criminal history, including five prior arrests for DUI, burglary, trespassing and aggravated assault, WFLA reported.
“With five prior DUI arrests, Patrick has been given chance after chance to change. Not to mention he’s not even supposed to be behind the wheel of a car because he doesn’t have a valid license. He needs to stay locked up,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement.
Patrick’s driver’s license was suspended in 2013, WFLA reported.
Police also said that when they arrested Patrick, he had a receipt from a nearby gas station that had surveillance video of him behind the wheel of the Kia Sportage. The gas station’s clerk told deputies Patrick is a frequent buyer of alcohol, WTVT reported.
