Hernando Today
Teacher 'Owns Up' To DUI
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Published: January 24, 2008
BROOKSVILLE - BROOKSVILLE - Jesse Mockler stood ramrod straight at the podium, hands crossed at his waist, a blank expression on his face.
As Circuit Judge Stephen Rushing read the terms of Mockler's plea bargain to a charge of DUI, he asked the Powell Middle School teacher: "Are you making this plea because you are guilty?"
Mockler hesitated, then answered, "Yes sir."
Within five minutes, 31-year-old Mockler had his walking papers and was out the courtroom door.
He referred the waiting media to his lawyer, Jimmy Brown, who was pleased with the resolution of the case.
"Everything worked out beautifully and the way it should be," Brown said.
According to Brown, Mockler should be back at the blackboard next week after a three-month suspension without pay, though that couldn't be confirmed with the district's attorney.
The suspension follows his arrest in the early morning of Nov. 10, when a deputy pulled him over for erratic driving below the speed limit.
The traffic deputy who made the arrest, Lance Origon, said the teacher showed "extreme signs of impairment" and placed him under arrest on suspicion of DUI.
Mockler accumulated two more charges, though, after a pat down of his pockets. Origon reported the discovery of 12 white pills, identified as the painkiller Roxicet, and three muscle relaxants called Flexeril.
The weight of the prescription drugs earned Mockler a trafficking charge, although that was later corrected to possession of Oxycodone.
An affidavit states that Mockler grew belligerent with the deputy and demanded to know why he was giving him such a hard time. He added, "Everyone drinks and drives."
After court on Wednesday, Brown provided the same explanation he gave to the school district.
There was no alcohol involved, he said. Mockler was tired, his bum knee was flaring up after a pick-up basketball game and he was taking medication to alleviate the pain.
The Flexiril belonged to his father, who had loaned him the jacket and forgotten the pills were in it. Mockler did have a prescription for the other drug, but it was expired.
Through the plea bargain, he was given pretrial intervention for the first count, possession of Oxycodone, essentially wiping it off his record. The second drug charge was dropped.
The DUI charge was changed to reckless driving, for which he'll serve six months probation and perform 50 hours of community service.
Mockler pleaded guilty to that charge, though he had a "no contest" option. Brown said it's because the teacher wanted to "own up" to his mistake.
He fully intends to disclose the DUI ordeal to his pupils as a cautionary tale and to not plea guilty "would have been a cop out," Brown said.
Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( jclub ) on January 25, 2008 at 12:01 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Hernando County FCAT Test
#1: Will the DUI teacher's SRO get him arrested by the first weekend back to work?
#2: Teachers get 60 days for a wallet and 90 days for a DUI. How much learning went on in their classroom?
#3: If teachers get suspend that long and learning does go on, then why have teachers, principals, and a superintendent?
#4: If teachers get 60 and 90 days, why don't teachers work as a county HR director and just get 5 days?
#5: A teacher (average driver) endangers lives driving DUI and gets 90 days. Deputies (trained drivers) endangers lives driving fast and crashes, but gets 1, 2, 3, or even 5 days. How many days did the Escambia Superintendent get for his DUI?
#6: How much money would the Schools save if every teacher were suspended for 30 days because they failed to wipe the blackboards properly?
#7: When considering the number of days a teacher gets suspended to that of a deputy, County HR director, or a Superintendent, explain how the size of one's ego, salary, or influence be the cause for their much shorter suspension?
Thank you for taking Hernando's FCAT test. Your result will be completed after you've been arrested.
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Posted by ( SpringHillCitizen ) on January 25, 2008 at 6:29 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
It would make so much more sense and save so much more time and keep the car chases to a minimum if the nice officers would just sit in their squad cars and arrest these drunk 'walkers' as they come out of the bars/restaurants serving alcololic beverages before they actually get into an automobile and make our streets unsafe?
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