Pinellas-Pasco prosecutor charged with second DUI

TAMPA -- A Pinellas-Pasco prosecutor has resigned after being charged with her second DUI in a Saturday traffic stop in the Channel District.

Tampa police pulled over Lydia Dempsey Wardell, 40, after they saw her speeding and driving carelessly on Bayshore Boulevard about 5 p.m.

"The defendant was obviously imparied and consented to field sobriety tests, which she failed," a police incident report said.

Police learned that Wardell had been involved in a hit-and-run where she fled the scene prior to being pulled over, the report said. Wardell was charged with DUI and leaving the scene of a crash with property, jail records show.

She was released from a Hillsborough County jail after posting bail Sunday.

Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe said Wardell has been on unpaid leave from her job for about three or four months for reasons he could not disclose. She resigned from her job today in a fax to McCabe.

"It's a very unfortunate circumstance," McCabe said.

In 2005, Wardell was sentenced to 12 months probation for driving under the influence during a car accident where another six months for culpable negligence was levied against her because she carried her two sons, 3 and 6, in the car at the time. Both offenses were misdemeanors.

Before her first arrest, Wardell was known for her aggressive pursuit of DUI and other cases as one of two misdemeanor court supervisors for the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney. She was demoted after the first arrest, barred at work from having any contact with DUI cases. She was also suspended 30 days without pay.

Justin George, Times staff writer