- April 17, 2024
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by: Andrew Gant, Volusia County Sheriff's Office, Office of Public Affairs and Media Relations
An off-duty Volusia sheriff’s deputy has been arrested on his second charge of driving under the influence in the past year.
Deputy Aaron Chavez was pulled over by a DeLand police officer shortly before 2 a.m. Friday, after the officer witnessed Chavez’s truck traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of International Speedway Boulevard.
The officer followed as Chavez’s truck proceeded through a red light, made a left turn onto Woodland Boulevard, swerved and pulled over for the traffic stop.
When the officer approached the truck, he noticed a smell of alcohol and noted that Chavez’s eyes were glassy and his speech slurred.
Chavez was taken into custody without incident on charges of DUI and refusal to submit to DUI testing, and he was cited for traveling on the wrong side of the roadway, failure to stop at a red light and violation of driver’s license restrictions (allowing driving for business purposes only).
Chavez, 34, was previously arrested for DUI on March 21, 2020, when a Volusia sheriff’s sergeant responding to complaints about a reckless driver pulled him over north of DeLand. Chavez was off-duty in that incident as well. The Sheriff’s Office news release on his previous arrest is copied below.
As a result of the prior March 2020 arrest, Chavez was suspended for 24 hours and reassigned to a non-law-enforcement position while his case was pending. Chavez pleaded no contest to an amended charge of reckless driving and was sentenced to probation, which he successfully completed. After resolution of his case, Chavez was reassigned to courthouse duties, and later to a patrol assignment.
Chavez is currently suspended pending the results of an Internal Affairs investigation.
