South Walton firefighter convicted of DUI, faces charge for domestic battery

A 45-year-old South Walton firefighter who was convicted of DUI earlier this month remains on administrative leave.

James Ronald Austin, of DeFuniak Springs, was arrested on Aug. 20, 2009, after being found drunk and high on Xanax with a motorcycle lying on his leg, according to a Walton County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. He was found guilty of DUI on Feb. 3.

He still remains a South Walton Fire Department employee, but is on administrative leave without pay, according to South Walton Fire Department Deputy Chief Sean Hughes. The department is wrapping up an internal investigation that will decide whether Austin is re-tained.

“I suspect that we’ll probably be wrapping it up by the end of this week,” Hughes said Thursday.

Around 11:45 p.m. last Aug. 20, a deputy was dispatched to a single-vehicle accident on Highway 331 North, just north of Highway 90, ac-cording to Austin’s arrest report. The deputy found a black motorcycle lying on Austin’s right leg, and lifted it up off of him.

Austin told the deputy he wasn’t hurt and added that he had taken some Xanax earlier, the report said. Austin said an unknown vehicle had run him off the road, and the deputy concluded that no traffic crash had occurred.

The deputy noticed a strong smell of alcohol coming from Austin, who was walking crooked and seemed nervous, according to the report. After checking Austin’s license with dispatch, the deputy found he wasn’t licensed to drive a motorcycle. He also found out that Austin had a restriction on his license that required an ignition interlock device.

The deputy told Austin he had to perform a field sobriety test or he would take him to jail under suspicion of DUI, the report said. Austin raised his voice in an angry tone and said, “No!”

On the way to the Walton County Jail, Austin spontaneously said, “I had a DUI in the past and now I’m gonna lose my job, come on, can you cut me some slack. I know I drank too much. I shouldn’t have been drinking and driving, I’ve been working a lot of hours.”

Austin refused to take a breathalyzer test, but said he drank between three and six twelve-ounce Bud Lights starting at 9 p.m., the report said. He also told the deputy, “I take Xanax that are prescribed to my mother. Probably illegal. But, I don’t have a prescription.”

On Nov. 20, Austin was arrested for domestic battery in Liberty, Fla., after he strangled and bit a woman, according to a Walton County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. He faces a felony charge for domestic battery by strangulation.