TILDEN LAW – Orlando Criminal Attorney

Lake County, Florida attorney Bruce Duncan surrendered Friday to jail authorities after the Florida Highway Patrol charged him with DUI-manslaughter in the traffic death of a retired postal worker after a October 17, 2009 accident.  Duncan, 46, is President of the Leesburg land development company, Family Dynamics.  Prior to his current position, Duncan was previously employed as an Assistant Public Defender in Lake County.

Duncan has been a visible community booster. He is chairman of the executive board of Life Stream Behavioral Center, which provides mental-health and substance-abuse services for Lake and Sumter counties, according to the agency’s Web site.

FHP Sgt. Kim Montes said Duncan – who was returning home from Gainesville after attending the Florida Gator football game against Arkansas – had a half-empty bottle of vodka in an ice chest on the truck seat.  Montes said troopers drew blood from Duncan at the crash scene that measured his blood-alcohol content at 0.16 percent, double the state’s threshold at which a motorist is presumed to be impaired by alcohol.

In an affidavit, FHP traffic-homicide investigators cited Duncan’s blood-alcohol level, his unsteady appearance at the crash scene and statements by motorists who observed his driving pattern before the crash.

Terms of his pretrial release forbid Duncan to drink or drive, said Bill Gladson, division chief for the State Attorney’s Office in Lake County. After his arrest, Duncan was released after posting $50,000 bail.  A court date has not been set.

If you have been arrested or charged with a DUI in Orlando and are facing criminal prosecution in either Orange County, Seminole County, Florida, or if you have had your driver license suspended for a DUI, contact the attorneys at Tilden Law for an initial and confidential consultation, 407-599-1234.

While the facts of this case are from a different state, the DUI laws in Florida allow for a DUI arrest and subsequent conviction under similar facts…..  A 49 year old man in Illinois has been arrested and charged with a DUI and he wasn’t even driving his car. His license had been revoked due to a prior DUI conviction and he decided that rather than take public transportation, ask a friend for a ride or walk, he would take his riding mower to the nearest gas station for some beer. To make matters worse, the man was riding his mower on a public road while drunk.

Police were notified by witnesses that the man was weaving in and out of traffic on the riding mower. Police tried to stop the man, but he drove into his front yard reportedly spilling Milwaukee’s Best along the way. He is now facing a second DUI charge and bonded out on $10,000.

If you have been charged with a DUI in Orange County or Seminole County, Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense lawyers at Tilden Law at 407-599-1234 for a free initial consultation.