Finance Director Reprimanded For DUI

The sheriff's finance director was given a written reprimand Friday for her drunken driving arrest last summer.

In the reprimand, released Tuesday, Sheriff Richard Nugent tells Emily Vernon her attempts to seek counseling the Monday after the incident "lead me to believe you have taken steps in the right direction."

Vernon was arrested 10 days after she crashed her pickup truck into a road sign on July 11 at the intersection of Lake Lindsey and Daly roads. Deputies smelled alcohol on her breath and found wine bottles in the pickup, but there were no witnesses on scene that could put her behind the wheel.

The sheriff denied allegations of favoritism at the time and defended how deputies handled the matter.

News coverage prompted witnesses to come forward and an arrest warrant was issued. Vernon, 40, pleaded no contest Feb. 12 and received the standard DUI sanctions, including a year of probation and a six-month driver's license suspension.

An in-house investigation resumed after the criminal charges were settled and its contents shed new light in the events leading up to the crash.

Vernon tells what happened in her own words to the investigator and declares it was never her intention to drink and drive. She blames a prescribed sleep aid for her erratic driving.

Vernon admits she is aware of the side effects, which put her into an "amnesia-like trance." Several months prior to this incident, she woke up to find she had rearranged the bedroom furniture.

On that night, Vernon's husband was working and her daughter was out of the house on a trip. She took her medication, then drove to a north Brooksville store and bought two bottles of wine. As she drove home, her driving became more erratic and witnesses began following her.

Her pursuers lost sight of her on Lake Lindsey Road, but pulled up just after she struck the road sign. She was already out of the truck inspecting the damage to the grill. A witness took the keys from the ignition to keep her from driving away.

At one point, Vernon poured the wine into a plastic water bottle. She told the investigator it's because her husband hates alcohol and she wanted to hide the bottle from him.

Deputies responding to the 11:30 p.m. crash found Vernon sitting on the side of the road and struggling to stand. She only gave her name as "Emidy" and couldn't remember her last name.

When they told her to stay seated, she lay face down on the asphalt. Fearing she would walk into traffic, deputies handcuffed Vernon and seated her in a police cruiser.

The deputies consulted with their supervisors for a course of action. With no "wheel witnesses" and no keys in the ignition, it was decided there was no proof of DUI. No sobriety tests were administered, nor was there a blood alcohol test.

Vernon told investigators she doubted her blood alcohol level would have exceeded the .08 limit. She added if the crash hadn't been so publicized she would have fought the charge instead of pleading no contest.

But "she couldn't deal with the matter any longer," the report states.

The internal investigation resumed when the criminal charges were squared away and determined that Vernon violated policy that restricts alcohol use.

As part of the reprimand, Vernon is to continue counseling and send reports on her progress to Human Resources after three and six months.

Her employment at the sheriff's office depends on her continued abstinence and any repeat violations will lead to "immediate termination," the reprimand states.