The golf cart, hydrant, and flower bed bear the brunt of drunk driver's fourth incident

In a peculiar incident, a sheriff’s deputy responding to a reckless driver complaint stumbled upon an unusual scene: a golf cart nestled in a flower bed. The driver, Mark Fusco, not a stranger to such escapades, was subsequently arrested for DUI, marking his fourth offense.

The arrest unfolded on the night of April 23 in Florida when Fusco’s golf cart, showing signs of minor cosmetic damage from a purported collision with a fire hydrant, caught the attention of law enforcement. The keys were still in the ignition, and Fusco was found seated in a lawn chair next to the golf cart in the driveway of an address that was not his residence.

Upon further investigation, Fusco informed the deputy that he had been heading home but had become lost, leading him to drive his golf cart into the flower bed. Notably, records indicate that Fusco’s actual home is 3.6 miles away, an eight-minute drive from the location of the incident on Sipsey Street, where he had purchased a property in 2017.

The deputy, suspecting intoxication, reported Fusco’s glossy eyes, the distinct odor of alcohol on his breath, and his unsteady gait. Fusco attributed his difficulty walking to an injury sustained during the First Gulf War. Field sobriety exercises proved challenging, with Fusco expressing an inability to stand, leading to his being allowed to sit during the assessment.

“The walk and turn and one-leg stand were not attempted due to the defendant’s complaints of being uneasy on his feet,” noted the deputy in the arrest report. Despite Fusco’s refusal to complete the finger-to-nose exercise, a witness on a walk observed him wedged between the golf cart and the fire hydrant.

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Fusco admitted to consuming a glass of vodka and orange juice, and subsequent breath tests in jail revealed alcohol levels of 0.204 and 0.202. A deeper dive into Fusco’s history uncovered prior DUI convictions in New Jersey in 2008 and 2014, as well as a local conviction in 2018, which was initially a 3rd DUI in 10 years but later reduced to a regular DUI.

Charged with driving under the influence, a fourth or subsequent offense, Fusco spent 11 days in jail before agreeing to a plea deal earlier this month. The terms included a 30-day jail sentence, a year of probation, and a five-year revocation of his driver’s license.

Fusco, 58, served 12 days of his jail sentence before being released, marking yet another chapter in his history of DUI-related incidents. The case highlights the challenges law enforcement faces in dealing with repeat offenders and the importance of stringent measures to deter individuals from endangering themselves and others on the road.

As Fusco navigates the legal consequences of his actions, this peculiar incident serves as a reminder of the diverse scenarios law enforcement encounters in their pursuit of maintaining public safety, emphasizing the need for continued vigilance and measures to curb repeat offenses.