It was a bad weekend for Pinellas County criminal justice employees as two of them were arrested for DUI in Pinellas County this past weekend. One of the arrestees is the superintendent of juvenile detention and the other a nurse at the Pinellas County jail.
James Uliasz is the superintendent of the Pinellas Regional Juvenile Detention Center and he was arrested early Sunday morning in Hillsborough County. He was stopped in Town N Country around 3:30 a.m. According to police reports he failed field sobriety tests. Uliasz was near Hillsborough Avenue and Long Boat Boulevard where police had responded to a crash. They were redirecting traffic and according to the police Uliasz did not respond to directions from officers on the road.
The 41-year-old has been placed on administrative leave after the arrest and refusing a breath test. This is apparently the second DUI arrest for Uliasz as he was charged with a DUI in Manatee County in 2006. He was convicted of a misdemeanor in the second degree. Uliasz was released from jail on $500 bail.
The second arrest of a Pinellas County employee involved a nurse at the Pinellas County jail named Susan G. Doherty. She was arrested following a crash Saturday night. She was not only charged with DUI but also resisting arrest after allegedly punching an officer. Police reports state that the registered nurse was involved in a minor car accident around 10:30 p.m. The 48-year-old Clearwater resident did not take part in field sobriety tests or a breath test. She posted bail and was released.
These arrests coincide with an initiative by police in Tampa to ramp up DUI enforcement. The Tampa Police are concentrating their DUI efforts in three main areas: Hyde Park, New Tampa and Dale Mabry Highway. According to police numbers over two-thirds of all DUI accidents take place in those three localities. The plan is part of a statewide effort to put the brakes on DUI fatalities.
