Complaints lead to DUI arrest in Brookridge

BROOKRIDGE — The night began, authorities say, when Michael David Newcomer took three shots of Crown Royal. It ended when deputies found him with four uprooted mailboxes in the bed of his pickup.

Early Saturday morning, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office began receiving calls that a dark-colored pickup with a broken headlight was veering through yards in Brookridge and plowing into mailboxes, lawn ornaments, street signs, stop signs and even a concrete lion.

The stream of complaints to 911 led deputies to the alleged suspect. Authorities say Newcomer was pulled over on Country Club Drive, near Moriah Avenue. He told deputies he was driving around because he had gotten into a fight with his wife. A report says when they asked him about the damage to the front of his vehicle, he told them he was unaware of it.

In the bed of his truck, deputies said, they found four mailboxes that appeared to have come from different streets. Newcomer, of 7670 Moriah Ave., told deputies he had mixed whiskey with prescription medication earlier that night.

After failing several field sobriety tests, investigators said, his blood-alcohol content tested at about 0.013, above the 0.08 at which a driver is presumed to be impaired. He was charged with driving under the influence, DUI with damage to property and leaving the scene of an accident with damage. He was released on $1,500 bail.