A Stephen Foster Elementary School teacher is facing charges for possessing a controlled substance, resisting an officer without violence and driving under the influence.
Andres Correa III, 29, was arrested around 1 a.m. Jan. 7 after a Gainesville Police Department officer watched him leave an establishment near 2800 SW. 34th St. with an alcoholic beverage in hand.
The officer described Correa “stumbling” through the parking lot and “swaying” to prevent himself from falling over. When the officer met Correa by his motorcycle, they noted “watery eyes and slurred speech,” and asked Correa to step off of the vehicle, which he had already turned on.
Correa refused to show the officer his ID and tried to pick up the alcoholic beverage he set aside by the motorcycle. The officer told Correa he would be arrested, and he resisted being handcuffed, according to the arrest report.
The officer found 4.2 grams of MDPV, commonly known as bath salts, while searching Correa. He then told Correa he would begin a DUI investigation.
After conducting sobriety tests, the officer stopped “in fear for his [Correa] safety.”
Correa was then transported to GPD for a breath test where his blood alcohol content read .221%. Correa was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and two misdemeanors for resisting an officer without violence and driving under the influence with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher.
Correa was placed on administrative leave. Correa forwarded a request for comment to his lawyer.
Contact Megan Howard at mhoward@alligator.org. Follow her on X @meganmhxward.
Megan Howard is a second-year journalism major and the K-12 Education reporter for The Alligator. When she's not writing, you can find her rewatching the Eras Tour movie or reading The Hunger Games series.
