NAPLES, Fla. — Nearly a year and a half after her DUI arrest, Naples Mayor Teresa Heitmann's case returned to court Wednesday, where police officers testified before a judge for the first time.
During the latest hearing on a motion to suppress evidence, five Naples police officers testified about how they responded to Heitmann's 2024 arrest. The officers said they did not see any damage or a crash. They also did not see Heitmann in control of her car.
WATCH AS OFFICERS TESTIFY BEFORE A JUDGE ON THE DUI CASE AGAINST NAPLES MAYOR TERESA HEITMANN:
Heitmann was arrested on August 28th, 2024 and released the next morning. A neighbor had called 911 alleging she followed them home in her car and hit a mailbox in an alleged road rage. Police found no evidence of any mailbox being struck or any traffic violation.
In the courtroom, the state prosecutor played several videos to the judge, which showed how officers responded to the scene on the night of the incident. The hearing focused largely on the Naples Police Department's actions and procedures.
Police differed in their perspectives on whether Heitmann appeared intoxicated.
However Heitmann's attorney, Derek Verderamo, questioned why she was ever detained beyond the crash investigation without being read her Miranda rights, and suggested it was unfair because the investigation shifted from a possible crash to a criminal case around a possible DUI without her knowledge.
The state attorney's office argued in court that police had a reason to detain Heitmann as they gathered information.
"Did you tell Ms. Heitmann that you're no longer doing the crash investigation and you're doing the DUI investigation?" Verderamo asked a police officer.
"No," said the lead sergeant in the police response.
"Do you know if anyone from your agency formed a crash investigation?" Verderamo asked.
"No one did a crash investigation," said the sergeant.
The judge ultimately agreed the officers reasonably detained Heitmann and followed standard procedures, rejecting her attorney's motion to suppress evidence.
The case will now move forward with the next pretrial scheduled for next week on Wednesday, January 21st.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
