NY man loses freedom, dog after 5th DUI arrest in Pinellas

A New York resident lost his freedom and his dog after he was arrested for his fifth drunk driving charge in Pinellas County on July 4.

Gregory Bowman, 34, of Syracuse, NY, was charged with DUI, driving while license suspended and resisting an officer without violence after he was stopped by the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) at about 9:56 p.m. on Blind Pass Road.

According to a FHP report, Bowman was driving 50 mph in a 35-mph zone northbound on Blind Pass Road, near Harrell Avenue, without his headlights in use.

When the trooper caught up to the vehicle Bowman was driving, he saw the suspect travel into the wrong side of the roadway, the report stated.

After stopping Bowman, who had his dog with him in the vehicle, the trooper observed “several signs of impairment,” the report stated. He was then placed under arrest for DUI. The trooper had to force Bowman into his patrol car.

According to the report, it was his fifth arrest for DUI.

The dog was taken by Animal Control officials.