Woman Logs Her 8th DUI Charge

By JOSH POLTILOVEand SAMARA SODOS The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 23, 2007

TAMPA - Minutes after attending a panel Monday night where offenders are required to listen to victims talk about how people driving under the influence have affected their lives, Kelly Jean Moffitt was pulled over by Tampa police.

Police charged her with DUI - her eighth DUI arrest.

Two members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving's Hillsborough County chapter say they spoke to Moffitt, 29, at the meeting less than 10 minutes before she was pulled over.

Linda Unfried, the chapter's president, said Moffitt cried hysterically during the meeting while listening to a story of how a drunken teenager claimed the life of Unfried's sister.

After the meeting, Moffitt hugged Unfried and MADD victim's advocate Becky Gage. Unfried said Moffitt's voice "sounded funny." Gage smelled alcohol on Moffitt's breath.

Unfried was shocked Tuesday by the timing of Moffitt's arrest.

"I am beside myself," she said. "I'm outraged and disappointed and everything else you can think of. I can't even speak. I'm still shaking because it's hard to believe that it happened."

Gage said she had no reason to try to stop Moffitt from leaving the panel Monday.

"We have to assume that those people didn't drive themselves there," she said.

'Why Wasn't She In Jail?'

Moffitt has been convicted of DUI at least five times. Another charge was dropped, and the disposition of a case from Pennsylvania is unknown.

Tuesday morning, Moffitt had her first appearance in court, via video from jail, on the latest DUI charge. When Judge Walter Heinrich saw how many times Moffitt had been arrested for DUI, he thought it was a mistake. Her eight DUI charges don't include her 1996 arrest for public intoxication on an airplane and making a terroristic threat on an airplane.

Heinrich said Moffitt should be held without bail at Falkenburg Road Jail because she is a flight risk and a danger to the community.

Moffitt had no attorney listed on jail records as of Tuesday night. Efforts to reach Moffitt's family were unsuccessful.

Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said it's rare but not unheard of to find people with eight or more DUI arrests. Officers recalled one person who had about twice as many.

"If she has eight DUIs, that shows that we're doing our job and arresting her," Davis said. "Why wasn't she in jail? That's a better question."

Tampa police pulled Moffitt over at 8:39 p.m. Monday near the St. Pete Times Forum. She had driven several blocks downtown without headlights on after dark, an arrest report states. An officer questioning her noticed the odor of alcohol and saw that Moffitt had slurred speech and glassy eyes.

Moffitt, of 809 Normandy Trace Road in Tampa, was arrested at 9:20 p.m.

She also was charged with giving a false name to a law enforcement officer, driving with a revoked license and refusal to submit to blood alcohol testing.

Moffitt first was charged with DUI in Hillsborough County in October 1996.

Lawyer Daniel Fernandez represented Moffitt on a July 2000 DUI arrest in Hillsborough County. One month later, she was arrested again, and the case went through Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Court. Fernandez, who no longer represents Moffitt, said he thinks sentences in those two cases ran concurrently, leading to her being sent to prison from Jan. 12 to Nov. 18, 2001.

'It's Kind Of Hard To Believe'

Moffitt wasn't arrested for DUI again until June.

She pleaded no contest and was adjudicated guilty in that Orange County case and was sentenced to one year of supervised probation and DUI school. She had her license revoked for a year and was not allowed to possess or consume alcohol.

Assistant State Attorney Thomas Dickerhoof, Hillsborough County's court director and a former deputy, was surprised that Moffitt only received a year's probation for her seventh DUI arrest.

"It's kind of hard to believe," he said. "But there are a lot of variables you have to look at. If it was a really bad case and the facts were limited, they might rather get a conviction than lose the case outright."

Dickerhoof also said people in Orange County may not have had Moffitt's complete criminal history.

Files on the case were not available Tuesday.

Ninth Judicial Circuit Judge Alicia L. Latimore didn't return a message Tuesday.

Danielle Tavernier, spokesman for the Orange-Osceola state attorney's office, wasn't sure what effect Tuesday's arrest would have on Moffitt's probation status.

Moffitt was supposed to be in court today in Orange County on a misdemeanor charge of giving a false name to a law enforcement officer. She remains in jail in Tampa, unable to attend.

Gage, the MADD victim's advocate, said Moffitt has no regard for laws or human life and that she hopes a judge won't be lenient. Gage isn't sure there is a way to stop people from driving drunk, but she hopes people will consider the risks before getting behind the wheel.

"It's a shame our whole community isn't outraged," she said of Moffitt's arrest. "Everyone is a potential victim."

Researchers Michael Messano and Melanie Coon contributed to this report. News Channel 8 videographer Kate Caldwell contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691 or jpoltilove@tampatrib.com. News Channel 8 reporter Samara Sodos can be reached at (813) 314-5379 or slsodos@wfla.com.