Florida Department of Corrections officer arrested on DUI charge in Dunedin

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputies who responded to a disorderly conduct call in Dunedin early Thursday morning said they found a woman in a Dodge Charger holding a badge out the window.

Officials said the woman, Melissa A. Stachelsky, 35, is an officer with the Florida Department of Corrections. Deputies noticed that she appeared impaired; their suspicions were confirmed by field sobriety tests and a breath sample, and they arrested Stachelsky on a drunken driving charge, the sheriff’s office reported in a news release Thursday morning.

Stachelsky, who court records say is from Arcadia, was booked at the Pinellas County jail and was set to be released on her own recognizance Thursday morning.

Sheriff’s officials said they were summoned to the area of Keene Road and Coastal Place in Dunedin at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday. They found the Dodge Charger parked along the side of Keene; its engine was running and the hazard lights were on, according to the agency news release.

Deputies noticed that Stachlesky had “glassy, watery eyes and a distinct odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from her breath,” the news release states. She agreed to perform field sobriety tests but did them poorly. The breath test showed she had a blood-alcohol count of 0.127; Florida law presumes impairment at 0.08.

Stachelsky has hired by the department of corrections in 2019, state records show.