Don't be this guy!
 

BUI arrest after boat found circling in bay

Posted: Dec 22, 2011 11:39 AM EST
Updated: Dec 22, 2011 2:52 PM EST

NAPLES, FL -
A Naples man was arrested for Boating Under the Influence after his vessel was found going in circles in Naples Bay Wednesday night.

Police were called about the 23-foot boat around 9:15 p.m. By the time officers arrived, it had crashed into a floating dock at the Charter Club and wedged itself between the dock and a piling.

A check of the boat led officers to the home of Robert Glenn Gillingham, 35, of Blue Point Avenue in Naples.

Police say when the arrived at his house, Gillingham was climbing out of the water and over the sea wall.

He told investigators he'd headed out with a friend, Amanda Anderson, to look at houses and then watch the sunset.

The arrest report says Gillingham told officers he had two beers while on the boat, then the two headed to Shane's Cabana Bar.

Police say Gillingham told them he had two beers and a shot there, then left around 7 p.m. and went home.

They noted he smelled heavily of alcohol while relaying the story.

Gillingham allegedly told officers he didn't like the way the boat was positioned, so around 9 p.m. he went to move it. As he put the boat into gear and tried to push off a piling, he said he fell into the water and the boat started circling.

But police say witnesses, including Anderson, told a different story.

Anderson said Gillingham had three beers on the boat and four in the bar, plus the shot. She also said he left the bar on the boat at 9 p.m., not 7 p.m., according to the arrest report. He was alone when he left, she said.

A server at the bar confirmed the time Gillingham left, according to police, and showed them his bar tab, which she said had not been paid.

Officers gave Gillingham a field sobriety test, which they say he failed. He declined to take a breathalyzer test when asked.

He was taken to the Collier County Jail.

Source: http://www.nbc-2.com/story/16378129/...ircling-in-bay

Hopefully none of us are foolish enough to get loaded and then go boating.

Not condoning drunk driving but I think they will have a hard time proving DUI once the girlfriend gets her story "right".

I'm curious, why do you believe her story would hurt the prosecutors case?
He already admitted to a professional witness (policeman) he had 4 beers and a shot of alcohol prior to piloting his boat home.
Self incrimination by speaking to a peace officer is the best testimony for a conviction in a courtroom.

I don't condone operating a motorboat under the influnce either. But, if your ever being suspected of operating under the influence don't spill your guts to the cops. Make them prove their case with a breathalyzer reading showing the the alcohol level it determined.

Just my .02 about what to do if your ever in the same situation as him.

See ya,
Kelly

The story is a little confusing. It can still be hard to prove DUI after the fact. Still not cool what he did. No lanyard too. With full hydraulic steering it would have gone straight until it hit something.

This is almost as stupid as one of my coworkers. He took his boat out by himself in the gulf to go scuba diving for lobster, 1st dumb move. After diving several miles out he decides to take a leak off the swim platform with the drive in idle forward. A wave rocks the boat & he falls in. No life jacket on & boat is going faster than he can swim. So there he treads watching it go away. Luckily the steering wheel wasnt perfectly straight. It took it about 20 mins & it circled back , he was able to catch it & get back in. Future Darwin award winner i'm sure

This guy is screwed, I do not know Florida BUI/DUI law but I do a sh@tload of DUI cases in New Jersey (DUI defense). Refusing the breath test is very, very hard beat on a straight refusal.

As far as the witness/friend-Amanda Anderson, I am not suggesting, nor do I condone lying to law-enforcement (that in itself is a criminal offense), but seriously, what a f*cking rat. With friends like that.....but he was pretty much screwed anyway with the refusal of the breath test.

It is time for him to lawyer-up.

What a dick. Besides being drunk and endangering others, he skips out on the bar bill.

You are so right, I overlooked skipping out on the bar tab. I used to bartend to pay for my college education, and after college continued to bartend on the weekends. I would have been pissed if someone skipped on me.

Girlfriend said he left alone and he skips out on the tab, sounds like he left abruptly, so maybe she isn't the girlfriend any longer and was throwing him under the bus.