Man arrested in Sarasota hit-and-run that left officer injured: police

Melissa Pérez-Carrillo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·2 min read
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A man was arrested on Wednesday in connection to a hit-and-run that left a Sarasota Police officer injured.

Plantation native Mark Thomas, 22, was arrested and faces felony charges of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and fleeing to elude with disregard for safety. He was arrested at a probation office in Broward County Wednesday afternoon.

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On the night of the hit-and-run, officers placed their patrol cars at the entrance and exit of a neighborhood in Bird Key Tuesday night to stop a white S-Series Mercedes suspected to be involved in a car burglary, police officials said.

An officer can be seen running toward the car as it tried to pass near the neighborhood's security entrance. The car hit him on his right side, and he flipped midair before landing on the pavement. The officer was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, but he is home and expected to make a full recovery.

During a search warrant, officers found a Chik-Fil-A bag and McDonald's receipt that corroborated video surveillance from the drive-through that showed it was the same car and the same driver caught on video footage the night the officer was hit, police officials said. Also, fingerprints collected from the car were traced back to Thomas.

Officers were responding to a car burglary on Monday at Mourning Dove Drive on Bird Key at 2 p.m., and they had video evidence that the same car was involved. The car was also spotted in a neighborhood on Longboat Key where a car was stolen from a home on Fair Oaks Place, police officials said.

Since 2019, Thomas has been convicted of several crimes, including two grand theft auto charges, burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, carrying a concealed firearm, and several drug charges.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Man faces felony charges after Sarasota hit-and-run, police say