MULBERRY, Fla — A deputy pulled over an SUV towing a camper without working tail lights and smelled alcohol coming from the driver, according to a news release from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.
It was around 9:15 Sunday night on S.R. 60 in Mulberry.
Deputies say 49-year-old Jeff Gulden was behind the wheel, and the camper had been taken in September from a tow lot after being impounded.
The release states Gulden was clearly impaired. Deputies say he staggered while trying to walk, swayed while standing still, and there were several empty cans of alcohol in the SUV.
Investigators say he was arrested and had a 0.228 blood alcohol content – more than twice the legal limit. Deputies say he told them he felt he was only at a “0.03,” according to the release.
Gulden was charged with DUI and released on a $500 bond.
The sheriff’s office says he’s a teacher at Kathleen High School.
"This is very disappointing – teacher, who is supposed to be a positive role model for kids, driving under the influence and pulling a stolen camper," Sheriff Grady Judd said.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office explained, while the camper belongs to Gulden, he shouldn’t have been towing it that night.
It was impounded in 2019 after being left overnight at a Walmart, then authorities say someone rammed through the fence of Split Second Towing in Tampa and took it.
According to HCSO, Gulden had tried to negotiate with the company to get his camper back, but failed.
Deputies don’t know who took the camper.
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