BARTOW, Florida — A Florida judge says a sheriff’s office must retain custody of a horse whose owner was charged with drunken driving while riding the animal.
In a report by The Ledger, Polk County Judge Sharon Franklin said 53-year-old Donna Byrne was unfit to care for the horse. Franklin also said Byrne must complete treatment for alcohol addiction.
Polk County woman arrest for DUI on a horse. Deputies say 53 year old Donna Byrne was confused and smelled of alcohol. pic.twitter.com/rWmqksYEew
— holly gregory (@hollygregory33) November 3, 2017
Byrne was arrested Nov. 2 after riding her horse down a highway, then charged with DUI and animal neglect for endangering and failing to provide proper protection for the horse.
Polk County Sheriff’s officials said in an earlier news release that someone called 911 about a woman who appeared confused and possibly in danger. When deputies arrived they found Donna Byrne riding her horse in the road.
Officers did a sobriety test and said she gave breath samples that registered blood-alcohol level of .161 — twice Florida’s legal limit of .08.
So today my story… a woman arrested for DUI… on a horse in Polk Co. This is the horsepower she was riding, Bo Duke. Can’t make this up. pic.twitter.com/5D83LdWnpH
— Rod Carter (@WFLARod) November 3, 2017
Byrne’s attorney, Craig Whisenhunt, says he will revisit the custody issue at a Jan. 11 hearing regarding additional pending charges of disorderly intoxication, animal endangerment and culpable negligence.
Whisenhunt questions whether the charges applied to Byrne, saying she had not been disorderly and was a pedestrian under the law.
The Associated Press
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