Follow-up Friday: Driver who said ‘it was better for him to get in trouble rather than his mother’ sentenced twice more

TAVARES, Fla. – The driver who told police “it was better for him to get in trouble rather than his mother, who[se] license is also suspended,” has been arrested and sentenced twice more, in two Florida counties, in less than three months.

Luis Angel Mayorga’s trouble behind the wheel started with a DUI arrest, after a police sergeant in Volusia County saw him leave a parking lot at 3 a.m. on Dec. 10, 2020.

The arrest report described Mayorga having trouble approaching three intersections, and the sergeant “instantly” smelling “an odor of an alcoholic beverage” during the traffic stop.

Then, “[The sergeant] asked the defendant if he was willing to complete some field sobriety exercises.

“The defendant responded ‘sure why not.’”

Judgment and Sentence, May 7, 2021 by Lenny Cohen on Scribd

Five months later, Mayorga pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of reckless driving. He was sentenced to a year of probation and 75 hours of community service. He also had to take an alcohol safety education course and attend a victim awareness program.

Violation Report, April 6, 2021 by Lenny Cohen on Scribd

Unfortunately, almost a year later, Mayorga hadn’t taken the course, attended the program, or done any community service. His violation report also said he missed three of five appointments with his probation officer, and owed nearly $2,000.

That reckless driving case came back to haunt Mayorga when he was speeding in a school zone in Lake County, this past September.

“I was advised that the defendant had a suspended license from 2022 for criminal failure to pay,” the police officer wrote in that arrest report. “I was also advised that he had a warrant out of Volusia County for reckless driving.”

That’s when, the good son, “When asked about his license, he advised it was better for him to get in trouble rather than his mother, who[se] license is also suspended.”

Mayorga spent six days in the Lake County Jail for driving with a suspended license.

Then, he was returned to Volusia County, where he spent two few more weeks in jail for the probation violation.

Plea Form: Violation of Probation, Oct. 7, 2024 by Lenny Cohen on Scribd

On Oct. 7, Mayorga took a plea and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with credit for 16 served, and he was released on Oct. 15.

But his troubles weren’t over.

Back in Lake County, Mayorga’s lawyer took part in a pre-trial conference for the driver’s license charge on Nov. 14, and another was set up for Dec. 5.

It seemed on Dec. 5 that Mayorga himself was supposed to show up, and he didn’t, so the judge issued an arrest warrant.

Also, his $500 bond was forfeited and he would be held without bond when arrested.

Mayorga, 32, turned himself in on the evening of Dec. 16.

Plea in Absentia, Dec. 17, 2024 by Lenny Cohen on Scribd

The next day, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to time served plus court costs. Then, he was released after 22 hours behind bars.