Staff report

HAWTHORNE, Fla. – Geovani Osner Moreno-Maradiaga, 24, of Honduras, was arrested yesterday in Hawthorne for driving under the influence and driving without a valid driver’s license.

A Florida Highway Patrol trooper reported that she saw a white pickup truck weaving into the shoulder multiple times and that the driver was slow to pull over when she activated her lights and siren. The trooper reported that Moreno-Maradiaga initially said he understood English but later said he did not understand her and then handed her his Honduran passport.

A translation assistant was initially used to communicate with Moreno-Maradiaga, but a Spanish-speaking trooper was requested to respond to the scene because of the “poor translation quality over the phone.” When asked why he did not have a driver’s license, Moreno-Maradiaga reportedly said his mother has one, but he only has a passport. He reportedly told the translator over the phone that he wanted the troopers to give him a ticket and let him go home.

The trooper reported that she smelled a faint odor of alcohol from Moreno-Maradiaga’s breath, and a search of the car reportedly produced two cold beers that were open and four more that were unopened and cold to the touch. A warm open beer was reportedly found in the rear passenger door compartment, and two empty beer bottles were found in a cooler in the bed of the truck.

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Moreno-Maradiaga reportedly said he would only perform field sobriety exercises “if you let me go home” and then refused to perform the exercises, saying he could not do them because he was “messed up.”

Post Miranda, Moreno-Maradiaga reportedly told the Spanish-speaking trooper that “he made the error himself and that he is going to be forced back into his country.” He reportedly said he’d had six beers and that he’d been drinking while driving because it was hot and he was driving from Jacksonville to Tampa to see his brother. Moreno-Maradiaga’s breath tests reportedly gave results of 0.206 and 0.213; the legal limit is 0.08.

Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $4,000. Moreno-Maradiaga is no longer in the Alachua County Jail.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.