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TAMPA — The superintendent of the Pinellas Regional Juvenile Detention Center was charged with driving under the influence early Sunday morning in Hillsborough County, jail records show.
Deputies arrested James Joseph Uliasz, 41, at Hillsborough Avenue and Long Boat Boulevard in Town 'N Country about 3:30 a.m. after he failed a field sobriety test, an arrest report states.
Deputies were redirecting traffic at the scene of an unrelated crash when Uliasz drove up but did not move his vehicle as directed, the report states.
A deputy noted that Uliasz had watery eyes and alcohol on his breath. He refused a blood-alcohol content test, the report said.
Uliasz, who has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation, oversees the Juvenile Detention Center in Clearwater, a 120-bed institution that serves youths detained by various circuit courts, said Frank Penela, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. Youths are kept there until their cases are resolved or they are moved to other detention or treatment facilities.
In 2006, Uliasz, of Bradenton, was arrested on similar charges in Manatee County, according to Manatee County Circuit Court records. He was later convicted of a second-degree misdemeanor, records show.
Records show Uliasz was released from the Orient Road jail on $500 bail.
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