Destiny Betts

Name:
Betts, Destiny Taylor

Date of Booking:
04/08/2023

Reason(s) For Booking:
DUI – DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On April 8, 2023 I, Deputy Jonathan Davis, was clearing out debris on the roadway on Sgoda Road near the Marathon when I was called to assist a traffic stop with Deputy T. Perry.

I cleared the roadway with firefighter [REDACTED] and drove to Dep. Perry’s location and made contact with him and Ms. Destiny Taylor Betts on Highway 57 near Jones County Line. Ms. Betts was sitting on the tailgate of the pickup she was driving.

I assisted Deputy Perry by keeping everyone that was in the vehicle which was 4 occupants at the back of Ms. Betts vehicle. Deputy Perry pulled out 2 open containers and marijuana less than an ounce which was claimed by another occupant of the vehicle.

Due to the open containers in the vehicle I asked Ms. Betts if she had anything to drink and Ms. Betts said she was sober. I asked her if she was sober as a bird and Ms. Betts stated that she was. I asked Ms. Betts if she would be willing to conduct Standardized Field Sobriety Testing and she said just take her to jail.

I advised Ms. Betts I could just take her to jail if she wanted me to but there is a threshold of .08 for DUI and asked her if she just wanted to attempt to take any test and she said she would do the eye test and blow in the box but she was not going to do anything else. I conducted the HGN testing and PBT on Ms. Betts and the results were as follows:

Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus

1. Lack of Smooth Pursuit – Present both eyes
2. Maximum Deviation – Present both eyes
3. Onset Prior to 45 Degrees – Present both eyes

Portable Breath Test was conducted with the result of .181. Portable Breath test showing positive for alcohol.

I advised her that I was going to see what Deputy Perry wanted to do with the traffic stop due to drugs that he found while I was conducting Standardized Field Sobriety Testing. There was a passenger in the vehicle that claimed the drugs, so Deputy Perry relinquished Ms. Taylor Betts into my custody. I placed handcuffs on Ms. Betts with her hands behind her back, double locked, and checked for fit.

I placed Ms. Betts in the back of my patrol vehicle and immediately read implied consent for blood. Ms. Betts agreed to a blood test. Deputy Perry was wrapping up the end of his end of the traffic stop and asked to see if anyone that was licensed would take the truck instead of us having to tow the vehicle.

I went back and asked Ms. Betts if it would be alright if we released her truck to one of her sober passengers instead of us having to tow it and she said it would be alright if the male in the red hoodie that was on scene could drive it. The male with red hoodie was relinquished the truck and a quick Portable Breath Test was conducted to ensure no alcohol was present and he blew .000.

I released the male back to Deputy Perry after the breath test and had dispatch call the on call phlebotomist to have her on the way to meet us at the jail. I transported Ms. Betts to the Twiggs County LEC for booking and processing and blood test. Phlebotomist [REDACTED] conducted the blood test which was done in the Patrol Room.

Ms. Betts was released to Twiggs County Jail for booking and processing with a citation for DUI. 40-6-391.

Notations on Ms. Betts behavior during interaction:

1. Pupil size was Normal
2. Slow reaction to light
3. Ms. Betts switched to friendly to aggressive behavior and back
4. Droopy eyelids
5. Ms. Betts does have a known history with alcohol as well as a DUI over 5 years ago.

[End of Narrative]