DUI charges dismissed against former Free State baseball player Cody Kukuk
Florida prosecutors have dropped a misdemeanor DUI charge against former Free State High baseball star Cody Kukuk after determining a sheriff’s officer did not have probable cause to stop Kukuk’s vehicle in May.
Kukuk, 19, signed an $800,000 bonus last year to play in the Boston Red Sox’s system.
Samantha Syoen, a spokeswoman for the Lee County (Fla.) State’s Attorneys Office, said the deputy in Fort Myers, Fla., wrote Kukuk a ticket on May 13 and arrested him after he pulled Kukuk over when the deputy noticed tires were screeching as Kukuk made a left turn. He was pulled over about 2 a.m. May 13 in Fort Myers and later arrested on the DUI charge.
According to a motion filed in the case, Kukuk’s defense attorney Peter D. Ringsmuth argued the officer sought to suppress the deputy’s observations of possible alcohol impairment, results of field sobriety tests, breath test results and any statements Kukuk made. Ringsmuth argued the officer did not have probable cause to stop Kukuk’s vehicle.
Syoen said prosecutors dropped the DUI charge on Thursday because Florida case law does not support screeching tires as cause to pull someone over for careless driving.