| Probable cause affidavit: |
SUBMITTED BY: HOWARD, RUSSELL 0297 (AR07004925) did, being then and there the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in damage to a vehicle or other property, TO WIT: A FENCE, which is driven or attended by another person, fail to immediately stop HER vehicle at the scene of such accident and fulfill the requirement of Florida Statute 316.062, in violation of Florida Statute 316.061. ON 090407, I WS DISPATCHED TO 5230 NORTH FLORIDA AVENUE, HERNANDO IN REFERENCE TO A REPORT OF A HIT AND RUN ACCIDENT. UPON ARRIVAL, I MADE CONTACT WITH THE VICTIM AND AN EYE WITNESS TO THE INCIDENT. THE witness advised that a vehicle had struck the victim's fence and broke approximately five fence posts and destroyed approximately twenty feet of fencing. THE WITNESS PROVIDED THIS DEPUTY WITH A FLORIDA TAG, NUMBER F776LI, WHICH HE ADVISED WAS ON A MAROON JEEP SPORTS UTILITY VEHICLE. THE WITNESS ADVISED THAT HE BELIEVED THAT THE DRIVER'S NAME WAS KAY DUE TO HIM KNOWING HER AND SEEING HER AROUND FREQUENTLY. HE ADVISED THAT THE DRIVER PICKS UP AND DROPS OFF ONE OF HIS NEIGHBORS FOR WORK. THE VICTIM ADVISED THAT SHE BELIEVED THE DRIVER'S FULL NAME WAS KAY HATCHER. SHE STATED THAT SHE KNEW MS HATCHER FROM WHEN THE VICTIM WAS THE OWNER OF A BAR CALLED THE "PICKLE BARREL" AND THAT MS HATCHER WAS A FREQUENT CUSTOMER THERE. I THEN RAN THE TAG NUMBER, WHICH CAME BACK, REGISTERED TO A 1995 JEEP SPORTS UTILITY VEHICLE, MAROON IN COLOR, REGISTERED TO SHARON K HATCHER. I WAS ADVISED BY THE VICTIM THAT MS HATCHER/DEFENDANT LIVED JUST PAST JENNIE D'S RESTAURANT OFF HIGHWAY 200 IN APACHE SHORES. this deputy responded to that area and was ABLE to LOCATE the suspect vehicle, WHICH WAS bearing the aforementioned tag number. the VEHICLE was located at 3530 east brave lane, hernando. i responded to make contact with the residents and while WALKING past the front right side of the SUSPECT vehicle, i observed a piece of fence JAMMED into the bumper. this removed any doubt that this vehicle had been involved in the CRASH on north florida avenue. i made contact with one of the residents, who then informed the defendant of my presence and that i needed to SPEAK with her. i was invited inside the residence and DISCUSSED the situation with the DEFENDANT at her dining room table. she initially denied knowing anything about the CRASH. she THEN advised that she had been driving her vehicle and struck the fence in front of the victim's residence. i advised HER that a piece of the fence was still stuck in her bumper. she stated that she had been drinking PRIOR tO the collision. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT I DETECTED A STRONG ODOR OF ALCOHOL EMITTING FROM HER PERSON. she initially advised that she had stopped and told somebody about the CRASH, AT WHICH TIME, I ADVISED her that there was aN EYEwitness who had ADVISED me that she had not stopped. The DEFENDANT then ADVISED that she was going to take care of it at a later date because she thought THAT she had just hit the end of the fence. i then had the defendant return with me to the CRASH location for the purpose of FOLLOWING up ON my investigation. shortly after returning to the scene, the defendant was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident with property. she was handcuffed (double-locked) IN FRONT, secured in the rear seat of my patrol vehicle and TRANSPORTED to the citrus COUNTY DETENTION FACILITY FOR BOOKING AND PROCESSING. while en route, the defendant was ADVISED of her miranda rights via a pre-printed card and she agreed to continue speaking with me. she REITERATED her previous statement that she had hit the fence but believed THAT SHE had ONLY Hit the end of it. THE DEFENDANT'S BOND WAS SET AT $250.00 PER THE BOND SCHEDULE. TWO TRAFFIC CITATIONS WERE ISSUED TO THE DEFENDANT, ONE FOR CARELESS DRIVING, NUMBER 0914-ELU, WITH A FINE OF $123.50 PAYABLE WITHIN THIRTY DAYS AND ONE FOR LEAVING THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT WITH PROPERTY DAMAGE, NUMBER 0913-ELU, WITH A MANDATORY COURT DATE OF 092007 AT 1300 HOURS. *NOT-EXEMPT* |
