MANATEE COUNTY — Almost two months after Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse crashed his car into a tree, it’s still being decided whether to charge him with DUI.
The State Attorney’s Office for the 12th Judicial Circuit says the case is still under investigation.
But according to the Herald Tribune, legal experts say it’s highly unusual for an investigation to last this long.
Professor Craig Trocino at the University of Miami School of Law says, “I can’t come up with a rational reason why it wasn’t investigated on the scene, and why whatever investigation the prosecution is claiming they are doing is taking nearly two months.”
Trocino says there was substantial bodycam evidence that Kruse was drunk on April 20th, but not conducting a sobriety test then and there makes it difficult to build the case.
So far, Kruse received a $155 fine, a careless driving citation, and has to attend a four hour traffic school course.