Homeland security officer arrested in Keys on DUI

A special agent of the US Department of Homeland Security was arrested Friday night just south of Marathon, in the Florida Keys, after sheriff's deputies said he'd driven intoxicated at above the speed limit while he was riding a lane divider in an unidentified SUV.

Before a Monroe County Sheriff's deputy could arrest Kevin Patrick Kenny – and record his blood alcohol level by almost four times the legal limit – the Special Agent was rolling south on the # 39; US 1 near Sunshine Key at a top speed of 20 mph at the posted speed, according to a report issued by the sheriff's office.

Kenny, 44, then sped up to 75 mph in a 55-mph zone of his Chevrolet Trailblazer while "never keeping a single lane", forcing an oncoming motorist to slow down so to avoid an accident, said the Monroe Sheriff's Office.

When the deputy minister who followed him lit it, turned on his hazard lights and sounded his siren. Kenny has flashed his own emergency lights installed inside the vehicle unmarked forces of order. Once arrested, he gave the MP his driving license and a DHS business card identifying him as a special agent, said the MCSO.

He struggled to maintain his balance and used the deputy minister's vehicle to stand up, the sheriff's office said. His clothes were dirty and his eyes bloodshot. He smelled of alcohol, said the deputies.

After failing sobriety exercises, Kenny was arrested. Inside his vehicle, MPs found a 9-millimeter Glock pistol, a tactical vest, and two unopened boxes of wine. DHS supervisors were called to retrieve the pistol and the tactical vest.

Kenny's blood alcohol level was measured at 0.393, more than four times the Florida legal limit of 0.08, according to the MCSO. He was sentenced to Marathon Prison for a charge of driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of .20 or higher.

"I will remember you," Kenny told a MP when he was sentenced to prison, according to the sheriff's office: "Things will happen, you know, what happens stops".

MCSO said it considered this a threat.

Kenny filed a $ 3,500 bail and the county released him on Saturday at 11:35. A spokesman for DHS did not immediately respond to comments on Saturday afternoon.

Several personalities have been victims of incidents related to alcohol in the Keys in recent years.

In 2016, Backstreet Boy's Nick Carter was beaten in a Key West bar after a fight.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner, Jose "Pepe" Diaz, was arrested for driving while intoxicated in 2016. Although he was later acquitted, Diaz refused to pass a test of alcohol when the police announced that it was exceeding the posted speed limit to more than 40 mph. while he was on his motorcycle Harley Davidson in Key West.

William Smith Meyers, then president of the student body of the University of Florida, was arrested for criminal mischief after the police claimed he had drunk two motorcycles while he was on leave from Spring in Key West in 2017. As part of a pre-trial intervention agreement, The judge ordered Mr. Meyers, age 22, to spend 12 months under judicial supervision, 100 hours of community service and register for an assessment and treatment of substance abuse. He also agreed to pay about $ 300.