Superintendent Jim Paul Changes DUI Plea, Sentence Imposed

May 5, 2008

Escambia County School Superintendent Jim Paul won’t be driving to work anytime soon because his driver’s license has been suspended. Paul changed his not guilty plea to one of no-contest in connection with his January arrest in Pinellas County, Florida, on a charge of DUI.

Paul’s attorney entered the no-contest plea though his attorney last week, and was sentenced by the judge.

His driver’s license was immediately suspended for six months, and he was fined $645.50. He was sentenced to 50 hours of community service and given the option of paying off those hours at $10 each. He must also attend a state approved DUI school within 10 months.

Paul was scheduled to appear at a hearing on the charge Tuesday.

In an exclusive interview with NorthEscambia.com hours after his arrest, Paul said was at a technology conference funded by Apple Computer. He said he was unable to sleep Wednesday night and decided to play the slot machines at the Hard Rock Casino. He said he had two glasses of wine about 10:30, and then went to his car about 12:30.

“You know, you’ve had a couple of drinks,” he said he told himself at his car. “You don’t need to be driving. That’s the last thing I’ll need for goodness sakes is to be pulled over…so I just sat there…and just read some emails on my Blackberry. And tried to doze for a couple of hours and I would drive back.”

He said a drunk rapped on his car window about 1:30 or 2:00 that morning. “It was kind of a drunk; then I felt silly,” he said. “What I a doing here for goodness sake?”

That’s when he started driving back, and was eventually stopped by Pinellas County deputies.

“I didn’t feel in anyway that I was unable to drive,” he told NorthEscambia.com. “But I’m sure everybody says that who’s had drinks and gets behind the wheel of a car.”

According to a Pinellas County report obtained by NorthEscambia.com, Pinellas County deputies say the incident began when they observed a rented white 2007 Chevrolet Impala speeding and weaving dramatically on the Courtney Campbell Causeway in Clearwater. A sergeant assigned to the DUI Enforcement Unit stopped the vehicle and while speaking with the driver, 60-year-old James Roy Paul of Pensacola, became concerned that he was impaired.

A DUI investigation was initiated and after it was determined that Paul was impaired, he was arrested on one count of misdemeanor driving under the influence. Following his arrest, Paul was transported to the Pinellas County Jail where he was booked at 4:45 a.m. Eastern time. He was allowed to post a $500 bond at 2:34 Eastern time, after spending more than nine hours behind bars.

He submitted to a breath test which measured his breath alcohol level at 0.128. The legal limit in Florida is 0.08. During the investigation Paul was cooperative and identified himself as the Superintendent of the Escambia County School District.

Click here to see the officer’s charge report obtained by NorthEscambia.com.

Paul was in the Tampa area with Paul Fetsko, an assistant superintendent, and Don Maderson, the district’s technology director, for a technology conference. Paul was alone in the car at the time of his arrest.

The 60 year old Paul was first elected superintendent in 2000 and and re-elected in 2004. His office is up for re-election this year. He qualified as Republican candidate in that election on July 19 of last year, but later withdrew from the race.

Pictured above: Jim Paul’s Pinellas County Jail booking photo.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News