Florentino Manuel Negrete, whose address is redacted in the arrest report, was detained around 11 p.m. on Aug. 2 in the Winn-Dixie parking lot at 1326 N. Ferdon Blvd. and charged with bribery of a public servant, a felony; DUI causing damage to property; and refusal to submit to a breath test, both of which are misdemeanors.
The report states that Crestview police were dispatched to the scene after a caller told responders that a man had gotten out of a vehicle and said he was “drunk and high.”
A witness told officers the vehicle struck a curb and went into a ditch, drove back onto the roadway and nearly hit a pickup truck in the Winn-Dixie parking lot, according to the report.
Authorities wrote that they found tire tracks through the grass, fresh damage to the curb and scrape marks under the car. They found Negrete standing near his car and said he was unable to stand without swaying.
Responding officers observed a “very strong odor” of alcohol coming from Negrete.
Upon arriving at the Crestview Police Department, Negrete allegedly refused to submit to a breath test.
The felony count stems from the ride to jail. According to the report, Negrete offered a law enforcement officer $1,000 in exchange for his release, was told by the officer not to make the offer and then repeated it.
Under Florida law, offering a bribe to a public servant with the purpose of influencing an official act is a second-degree felony.
Negrete is being held at the Okaloosa County Jail with no bond. He is scheduled to appear in Okaloosa County Court on Sept. 3.
