FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A Palm Coast man wanted in Indiana was arrested Monday night on his fifth DUI after Flagler County deputies stopped him for reckless driving, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies said they responded to State Road 100 and Old Kings Road after a caller reported a driver swerving on the road. A blue Ford pickup was soon spotted leaving a RaceTrac gas station with its headlights off, exiting through a do‑not‑enter lane and then cutting across three lanes before running a red light while making a U‑turn, deputies said.
The driver, identified as Howard Johnson, 60, appeared nervous, slurred his speech and had an open beer can on the passenger floorboard, according to a news release.
Deputies said Johnson struggled to keep still, smelled strongly of alcohol and was unable to complete portions of a field sobriety test.
Based on his driving, physical impairment and performance on the exercises, deputies determined Johnson was not safe to drive and arrested him. An inventory search of the truck uncovered additional open alcohol containers, the sheriff’s office said.
Johnson was arrested for DUI and driving with a suspended license and was taken to the Flagler County jail where he refused to submit a breath test, according to the release.
“Because a vigilant citizen ‘saw something and said something,’ a dangerous drunk driver was taken off the roadway and a fugitive was apprehended,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said.
Deputies said during the investigation they learned Johnson had an extensive criminal history in Indiana, including four prior DUI convictions. He is also wanted in Lake County, Indiana, on charges of dealing cocaine, possession of a firearm by a violent felon and operating a vehicle while impaired endangering a person, the sheriff’s office said.
Johnson is being held at the Flagler County jail on an $81,000 bond for his most recent arrest and is awaiting extradition to Indiana on the aforementioned charges.