BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A 60-year-old Melbourne man is accused of injuring a friend of his in a DUI crash before selling his power tools to a nearby pawn shop over a year later, according to the police department.
Police said that in December 2020, Leslie Varner was driving two friends in his pickup truck when he failed to stop at a stop sign and was struck by another vehicle from behind on Eau Gallie Boulevard.
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As a result of the crash, both friends were seriously injured, suffering broken ribs, fluid in lungs and broken vertebrae in their necks, police said. Varner also suffered a broken vertebrate in his neck, police added.
An investigative report shows that while towing Varner’s truck, a relative of the friends found a bag with apparent drugs inside. That person also said he found a used syringe in Varner’s camper, the report reveals.
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Months later in May 2021, police said they were able to determine that the apparent drugs had tested positive for methamphetamine, and a syringe was found to contain an anabolic steroid.
A blood test confirmed that Varner had the drug in his system at the time of the crash, investigators said.
In August 2022, deputies said they were called to a home in Melbourne after reports that Varner had taken things from a shed and sold them at a nearby pawn shop.
Upon arrival, it was revealed that Varner had taken several power tools — including an impact driver, weed eater and chainsaw, among others — that belonged to one of his friends who was injured in the 2020 crash, deputies said.
Varner was eventually arrested on April 28, 2023, more than two years since the crash took place.
He faces charges of possessing controlled substances, causing serious injury while driving with a suspended license, two counts of DUI with serious bodily injury, larceny, four counts of false verification of ownership to a pawnbroker and four counts of dealing in stolen property. He is held on a $116,000 bond amount.
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