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Drunken county worker arrested
By RYAN DAVIS, Times Staff Writer NEW PORT RICHEY -- On a night when Pasco sheriff's deputies were scouring the roads for drunks, Philip James Moore came to them. Moore, 31, a Pasco County government maintainance worker, was summoned to the Sheriff's Office lobby on New Year's Eve to fix the flooded men's bathroom. He showed up drunk, sheriff's officials said. Moore of 10503 Oak Drive in Hudson drove a county van to the Sheriff's Office, 7432 Little Road, about 9:45 p.m., sheriff's officials said. He ruined his chances of slipping detection when he swore at a sheriff's lieutenant, the highest ranking person working at the time, officials said. And he smelled of alcohol, deputies said. "He'd been drinking quite a bit," said Lt. Robert Stone, who worked the morning after the incident. "I find it difficult to understand." A deputy led Moore through field sobriety tests. Then he arrested him at 10 p.m. Moore faces a charge of driving under the influence, deputies said. Two Breathalyzer tests showed Moore's blood alcohol level to be 0.146 and 0.153. Florida law presumes impairment when a driver's blood alcohol level is 0.08 or higher. Moore celebrated the new year in sheriff's custody. He was booked into the county jail in Land O'Lakes at 1:25 a.m. He stayed there until shortly before noon on New Year's Day when he was released on his own recognizance. And he never even fixed the bathroom. Stone said sheriff's officials had been calling for a repair man since Friday. On New Year's Day at 10 a.m. the bathroom still wasn't working, but sober county workers were attending to it. - Staff writer Ryan Davis is the police reporter in Pasco County. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6245, or toll-free at 800-333-7505, ext. 6245. His e-mail address is rdavis@sptimes.com.
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