BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — New court records detail a chaotic DUI arrest in Boca Raton in which deputies say a 57-year-old man attempted to grab a sheriff’s firearm while resisting arrest following a crash at a busy intersection.
According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office probable cause affidavit, deputies were dispatched shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday to the intersection of Boca Rio Road and Southwest 18th Street for a reported crash involving a suspected impaired driver.
Investigators identified the driver as Matthew Wade Pierce of Boca Raton. Deputies say Pierce’s vehicle had struck another car while traveling westbound on Southwest 18th Street, causing the second vehicle to be pushed into a nearby intersection. No serious injuries were reported at the scene.
When deputies arrived, Pierce was already outside his vehicle. One deputy reported observing signs of impairment, including slurred and mumbled speech, bloodshot and glassy eyes, and what was described as an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Pierce’s breath.
Pierce told deputies he had recently moved to the area and claimed he had suffered a heart attack in the past. According to the affidavit, he appeared argumentative and repeatedly questioned officers’ instructions.
During a DUI investigation, deputies asked Pierce to perform field sobriety exercises. The report states that Pierce struggled to follow directions, failed multiple components of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, and showed indicators of impairment including lack of smooth pursuit and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation in both eyes.
Deputies say Pierce was unable to safely complete additional exercises and appeared distracted, at one point attempting to check his phone during the evaluation.
After being advised he was under arrest, Pierce was placed in handcuffs and escorted toward a patrol vehicle. It was at that point, deputies allege, that the encounter escalated.
According to the affidavit, Pierce attempted to pull away from deputies and grabbed the holstered firearm of one deputy, managing to partially dislodge it before officers intervened. Deputies reported that Pierce continued to resist, requiring multiple officers to regain control and secure him in the patrol vehicle.
The report states that no shots were fired and no deputies were injured during the struggle.
Pierce was transported to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office DUI testing facility, where deputies say he refused to submit to a breath test despite being read Florida’s implied consent warning. Records indicate Pierce also declined to answer many standard DUI questions and repeatedly requested to speak with an attorney.
At the testing facility, deputies again noted signs of impairment, including thick speech, unsteady balance, and continued argumentative behavior. Pierce was ultimately booked into the Palm Beach County Main Detention Center.
Pierce is charged with DUI with property damage, refusal to submit to DUI testing, refusal to sign a citation, resisting an officer with violence, and unlawful taking or attempted taking of a law enforcement officer’s firearm.
Court records show bond was later set at $21,500 across all charges. As part of his release conditions, Pierce was ordered to abstain from alcohol and submit to random testing.
The case remains under review by prosecutors in the 15th Judicial Circuit. An initial return hearing is scheduled later this month in West Palm Beach.
Pierce is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Boca Post maintains a rolling overview of local arrests and law enforcement activity on our police activity page.
