Homestead woman arrested in Monroe County DUI stop after threatening deputies
A Homestead woman was arrested near Mile Marker 82 after deputies said a reckless-driving call turned into a DUI stop and threats against law enforcement.
A late-night reckless-driving complaint on U.S. 1 turned into a DUI arrest near Mile Marker 82 after Monroe County deputies said the driver threatened them during the stop, raising the danger on the Keys’ main highway just after 1 a.m.
Jeannita Marie Senteno, 33, of Homestead, was arrested around 1:16 a.m. after deputies spotted a Chrysler minivan matching earlier dispatch calls about a reckless driver, according to the report. Deputies said the stop escalated once they made contact with Senteno, who was charged with driving under the influence, threatening a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and refusing breath testing.
The location added to the risk. Mile Marker 82 sits in the Upper Keys on the only major route linking the island chain, and Monroe County transportation plans describe U.S. 1 as the primary roadway providing access to the Keys. County planners adopted the U.S. 1 Transportation Master Plan in October 2021 to address traffic flow, congestion, safety and level-of-service problems along the corridor.
That matters because a single roadside incident can slow traffic for residents, workers and overnight travelers moving between the Keys and Miami-Dade County. With few alternate routes available, even a brief stop on U.S. 1 can create backups that spread quickly through the Upper Keys.
The case also fits a pattern local law enforcement and road users know well: DUI-related incidents on U.S. 1 can become more serious when a stop turns volatile. Prior Keys reporting has described crashes and injuries tied to drunk-driving stops along the Overseas Highway, underscoring how quickly an impaired-driving call can become an officer-safety incident as well as a traffic hazard.
For Monroe County, the arrest is another reminder that enforcement on the highway is not only about one driver’s behavior. On a corridor as narrow and exposed as U.S. 1, an erratic vehicle, a resistant suspect and a roadside investigation can endanger everyone nearby before dawn.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
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