He drove drunk with kids in the car, and now he’s answering for a prior crime, cops say
A 43-year-old Bradenton man was out on bond for less than two weeks after being arrested and charged with child neglect and driving under the influence with two young children in his vehicle on Feb. 3.
He is back in jail for violating his bond conditions: On Feb. 12, he was caught in Sarasota when he was supposed to be restricted to his residence.
Choya Hawkins now has to answer for prior crimes.
Hawkins was on probation for a November of 2016 burglary in Bradenton where he dropped his cell phone at the crime scene and returned to try and find it while Manatee County deputies were still investigating the crime.
He was unable to explain to deputies why his phone was found in the victim’s garage. Deputies say they subsequently located all of the stolen items at Hawkins’ residence inside his vehicle.
Hawkins was convicted in October of 2017 on the burglary charge and sentenced to 42 months of probation despite eight previous burglary convictions during a time period of 1997 and 2012, according to court documents.
On Feb. 3, the Bradenton Police Department pulled over Hawkins after observing him swerving his vehicle to the point of almost crashing into another vehicle, according to the arrest report.
Two young children under the age of 8 were in the back seat. Police say Hawkins told them he was dropping them off to their family.
Even though this violated his probation, he was released after posting a $5,000 bond. Until, that is, he was caught in Sarasota violating his bond requirements.
His 2016 burglary conviction has now been reopened, and he faces the new charges of felony child neglect and DUI, as well as probation violation charges.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Hawkins has served multiple stints in prison dating back to 1991 for possession of an illegal weapon.
He returned to prison in 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012, each time after burglary convictions. He’s also served time for a Sarasota burglary conviction in 1998 and a 1992 false reporting of a deadly explosion.