Elementary teacher from Pinellas County arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for DUI
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested a woman for driving while impaired on Friday night, October 20, 2023; the woman told deputies she was a third grade teacher at Skyview Elementary School in the city of Pinellas Park.
52-year old Leslie Spence of Tampa was taken to the PCSO Sheriff’s Processing Center where she was charged with Driving under the Influence with a Breath Alcohol Content of .15 or Higher (M1).
“Children learn from adults and educators, so if you fall under both of those categories, it is imperative that you’re setting a good example. Since Ms. Spence failed to do that, we’re going to use this as a teaching moment—don’t drive drunk. It’s dangerous and you’ll end up in detention at the Polk County Jail.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff
At about 10:44 pm, a good citizen saw something, and said something. The witness reported a vehicle traveling east on State Road 60 at about 25mph and swerving across lanes.
A PCSO deputy caught up to the silver Ford SUV and conducted a traffic stop on SR 60, just west of US 27 in Lake Wales.
The deputy noted that Ms. Spence had slurred speech with a strong odor of alcoholic beverage, and her eyes were bloodshot and watery.
After a field sobriety test, Ms. Spence was placed under arrest for DUI.
At one point, Ms. Spence said to the deputy “my father is a lawyer and he will sue every single one of you.”
Ms. Spence provided two breath samples; one measured 0.213 and the other 0.214. Both samples were well over twice the legal threshold of 0.08.
In addition to the criminal charge of DUI, Ms. Spence was also given a citation for failing to maintain a single lane.