Naples Mayor Teresa Heitmann was taken into police custody last week on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
Naples mayor drunk drives onto lawn
Officers arrived at a residence in the city she represents, after receiving an odd report from a man and his wife.
They claimed an unknown woman in a silver car had followed them from downtown Naples, Florida to their house.
When they got home, the woman “stopped her vehicle on the grass in front of their home,” according to the Naples Police Department’s press release.
Following a “brief exchange” between the homeowners and the woman, she drove onto and parked in their front yard, prompting the couple to call the police.
“I think the mayor is drunk and she just literally—oh, she just drove over our mailbox,” the caller exclaimed in a 911 call.
The dispatcher responded with disbelief, “The mayor did?”
“I don’t know, she’s claiming to be the mayor,” the male homeowner replied. “I don’t know who she is.”
Naples mayor tries to dodge title
When the officers arrived on scene, they found Heitmann leaning against her car. When they approached her, she tried to avoid being labeled as a city official.
“Mrs. Mayor, will you come over here for me?” an officer said Heitmann in police body camera footage.
“No, don’t call me mayor. I am Teresa Heitmann right now, I am not the mayor,” she responded.
“You are slurring your words a little bit here,” one of the officers remarked.
“No, sir. I am not slurring my words,” she refuted. “I have sat here calm. Calmly.”
The officer retorted, “Calmly is a loose term. I think I’ve heard you yelling at my officers about twice now.”
Officers suspected Heitmann was under the influence and requested her to undergo a field sobriety test, which she complied with.
Afterwards, the police “found probable cause to arrest Mrs. Heitmann for driving under the influence of an intoxicating substance.”
Heitmann allegedly told the officers she had consumed only one glass of wine before driving, and claimed the couple she followed home had cut her off in traffic.
After reportedly failing the field sobriety test, her blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was tested twice using a breath analysis device, according to police.
Heitmann was taken to Naples Jail Center, where she agreed to take a breathalyzer test to determine her BAC.
The results showed her BAC was 0.155 and 0.169, while the legal limit in Florida is 0.08.
On August 29, Heitmann was released after posting a $500 bond.
Former mayor killed by 10-year-old boy
Over the weekend in Louisiana, an 11-year-old admitted to fatally shooting a former mayor and his daughter during a dispute about video games, according to police.
The deceased have been named as Joe Cornelius Sr., 82, a former mayor and city council member of Minden, and Keisha Miles, 31.
Due to the boy’s age, authorities have not disclosed his identity. However, it is reported that he is related to the victims.
The shooting took place early Sunday morning, and shortly after, the Minden Police Department received a call about two bodies discovered at a home.
A neighbor told a local news outlet that they heard around eight gunshots in quick succession.
Responding officers found Cornelius and Miles deceased with multiple gunshot wounds. The boy’s guardian took him to the police, where he confessed to the homicides.
Minden Police Chief Jared McIver told KSLA that the boy was seemingly remorseless about the crime.
“I think we all know what grieving looks like — and what it should look like — and I just, you know, didn’t see it,” he remarked.
While the investigation is in the early stages, neighbors suggested the argument was about credit card charges for a video game.
A neighbor, who was related to the victims, mentioned overhearing the argument and claimed that the boy, who allegedly has autism, pulled out a gun during the dispute.
“Joe got to arguing with him,” the neighbor explained. “The boy just pulled a gun out. I mean, Joe used to be a sheriff, so he has guns because he worked for the sheriff’s department and the boy know where it was. It’s a sad thing.”
