A Riviera Beach man is facing charges of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a crash after Palm Beach Police said he drove into and damaged the landscaped traffic circle next to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club.
Police were called about 7 a.m. June 29 to the scene in the 1200 block of South Ocean Boulevard, just south of Mar-a-Lago, by an officer working a special assignment in the area. The responding officer found damage in the traffic circle at the intersection of Southern and South Ocean boulevards, including a bent "yield" sign and damaged hedges, an arrest report said.
Next, the officer saw a red 2024 Chevrolet SUV stopped on the southbound side of South Ocean Boulevard, with damage on its left side and leaves sticking out of the headlights, the report said.
The officer who was on special assignment and called in the crash told the responding officer that there were two people inside the SUV and that both were unconscious when he arrived. The Riviera Beach man, 24, was behind the wheel, unresponsive, with an open bottle of Corona beer between his legs, police said.
As he started to wake up, police asked the Riviera Beach man to walk to the front of his car so Palm Beach Fire Rescue crews could evaluate him for injury, the report said.
As the man got out of the car, an officer saw white powder in a clear plastic bag that was on the driver's side floorboard of the SUV, according to the report. The man was unsteady, had difficulty walking and held onto the hood of the SUV for support, police said.
When Fire Rescue crews tried to evaluate the man, he was "belligerent," had slurred speech, and bloodshot and glossy eyes, the report said.
After being read his Miranda rights and being told he was under investigation for driving under the influence, the man told officers that the white powder was cocaine and it belonged to him. He also said he did not remember hitting anything with the SUV, the report said.
Inside the SUV, police said they also found a bottle of Corona beer in the cup holder next to the driver's seat and an open 24-pack of Corona with open bottles inside on the passenger floorboard.
Officers who reviewed the town's security cameras in the area saw that the incident had happened at 5:53 a.m. that morning when the red SUV drove into the traffic circle, hit the yield sign and bushes and continued south on South Ocean Boulevard — meaning the SUV and its occupants had been on the side of the road for more than an hour when police arrived.
When the man provided two breath samples about an hour after being found to check his alcohol content, the first was .244 and the second was .246, court records show. Florida's legal limit is .08, placing him four times above that legal limit at the time of the tests.
Police found that the man had a warrant from Lee County for grand theft, and that his driver's license was suspended. The report did not include any further information about the passenger.
The man was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, leaving the scene of a crash involving damage to property and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. He remained at the Palm Beach County Jail as of Wednesday on $1,250 bail while he awaits possible extradition to Lee County, jail records show.
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