Wimauma Father Arrested, Child Found Safe

Patrick Voegtly, a 26-year-old Wimauma man, was arrested after Hillsborough County deputies found him passed out in a truck at a gas station with his 5-year-old child in the backseat, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies responded at 7:57 p.m. on May 14 to a person-down call at the Shell station at 1665 Branch Forbes Road in Plant City, the agency said. Investigators said they found a handgun in plain view inside the vehicle and a second handgun in Voegtly’s pocket. The child was not reported injured, and the sheriff’s office said the investigation remains active. ### Where did deputies find the truck? The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were sent to the Shell station on Branch Forbes Road after a report of a person down. When they arrived, they found the vehicle parked beside a gas pump with Voegtly in the driver’s seat, according to the agency. Plant City police were not identified as the responding agency in the sheriff’s office account. The incident location sits in eastern Hillsborough County, and the sheriff’s office handled the arrest, its release said. ### What did deputies say the child told them? The sheriff’s office said Voegtly’s 5-year-old child was seated in the backseat when deputies reached the truck. Body-camera video described by the agency captured the child telling deputies, “He’s just sleeping.” WTSP, citing the sheriff’s office and body-camera footage, reported the same account of the child’s statement. The station said deputies found Voegtly unresponsive in the driver’s seat at about 8 p.m. on May 14. ### What signs of impairment did investigators describe? Deputies said Voegtly showed signs of impairment, including glassy eyes and slurred speech, during the roadside investigation. The sheriff’s office said he refused field sobriety exercises but did provide a breath sample. That breath sample measured more than twice the legal blood-alcohol concentration limit of 0.08, according to the sheriff’s office. The agency did not publish a precise reading in its release. ### Why were firearms included in the charges? Deputies said they saw one handgun in plain view inside the truck when they approached the vehicle. As they detained Voegtly, investigators found a second handgun in his pocket, according to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office said the arrest charges include driving under the influence over 0.15, child neglect, and improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon or firearm. Florida court records were not immediately cited in the sheriff’s release, and the agency said the matter remains under investigation. ### What did Sheriff Chad Chronister say? Sheriff Chad Chronister said in the agency’s May 16 release that “this reckless decision could have ended in tragedy.” He added that driving under the influence with a child in the vehicle while armed showed “a complete disregard for the safety of others.” Chronister’s statement was included in the sheriff’s office account announcing the arrest. The agency did not identify an attorney for Voegtly in the materials it released. ### What happens next in the case? The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation is active and that any updates will come from its Public Affairs Office. The arrest does not determine the outcome of the criminal case, and charging decisions can later be reviewed through Hillsborough County court records. Any next public step is likely to appear through the sheriff’s office case updates or in court filings tied to the listed charges against Voegtly.