Villager arrested with street-legal golf cart: felony charge reduced to fine

A village resident who was arrested earlier this year while driving a street-legal golf cart had his felony charge reduced to a fine.

The legal journey of 64-year-old David Lee Frank of the village of Lake Denham took a positive turn last week in Sumter District Court when a charge of driving with a suspended license was reduced to a civil citation. The ticket now includes a notation that Frank was “unknowingly” driving with a suspended license. The Michigan native, whose license was suspended in 2019, was originally charged with a felony. When the case came to light in court, it was reduced to a misdemeanor.

Frank was arrested on April 10 while driving his slow-moving vehicle on Meggison Road near the Citrus Grove Village Post Office, according to a Wildwood Police arrest report. An officer monitoring traffic with a stationary laser speed camera noticed Frank’s blue slow-moving vehicle, traveling in the golf lane along Meggison Road, passing a golf cart and reaching speeds of 25 miles per hour. The officer asked Frank to stop.

Franklin “demanded” to know why he was stopped. The officer pointed out that Frank had been traveling at 25 miles per hour. Frank pointed to his license plate and said his golf cart, which had a valid Florida license plate, was classified as a slow vehicle, also known as street legal. However, the officer reminded Frank that slow vehicles are not allowed to travel in the golf cart lane.

Frank was asked for his driver’s license, but he presented the officer with a Florida identification card. The officer checked his records and found that Frank’s license had been revoked in 2019 after he was convicted of driving under the influence in Santa Rosa County in the Florida Panhandle.

Frank was arrested for driving without a license and for drunk driving.

At the time, Frank’s arrest was the subject of much discussion over cocktails among villagers who questioned whether Frank should have been stopped at all because his golf cart was classified as a slow vehicle. Many suspected that the traffic stop should not have taken place and the arrest should therefore have been overturned.