Villager arrested in Street Legal golf cart has felony charge reduced to traffic ticket

A Villager arrested earlier this year while driving a Street Legal golf cart has had a felony charge reduced to a traffic ticket.

The legal journey of David Lee Frank, 64, of Lake Denham Village, took a positive turn last week in Sumter County Court when a misdemeanor charge of driving while license suspended was dropped to a civil citation. The ticket now includes the notation that Frank was “unknowingly” driving with a suspended license. The Michigan native, whose license was suspended in 2019, was originally charged with one count of misdemeanor. As the case began to wind through court, it was reduced to a misdemeanor.

Frank was arrested April 10 while driving his vehicle at a low speed on Meggison Road near the Village of Citrus Grove postal station, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. An officer monitoring traffic using a stationary laser speed measuring device noticed Frank’s blue low-speed vehicle, which was traveling on the golf course along Meggison Road, pass a golf cart and reach speeds of 25 miles per hour. The officer ordered Frank to pull over.

Franklin “demanded” to know why he was being arrested. The officer pointed out that Frank was going 25 mph. Frank showed his license plate and said his golf cart, which had a valid Florida license plate, was classified as a low-speed vehicle, also known as a Street Legal. However, the officer reminded Frank that a low-speed vehicle is prohibited from traveling in the golf cart lane.

Frank was asked to show his driver's license, but he presented the officer with a Florida ID. The officer ran a background check and discovered that Frank's license had been suspended in 2019 after he was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol in Santa Rosa County, located in the Florida Panhandle.

Frank was arrested for driving with a suspended license for driving while intoxicated.

At the time, Frank's arrest sparked much conversation among villagers, who doubted whether Frank should ever have been arrested due to the classification of his golf cart as a low-speed vehicle. Many have speculated that the traffic stop should not have happened and therefore the arrest should have been overturned.