He was pulled over for no headlights, Florida cops say. Then they searched his truck

Madeleine Marr
·2 min read
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A routine traffic stop escalated quickly for two Florida deputies on patrol early Tuesday, and it was all caught on dashcam.

According to a news release on the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, at around 1:30 a.m., the deputies observed a black Chevy Avalanche driving without headlights in the 5200 block of South Pine Avenue in Ocala, about a half hour south of Gainesville.

The deputies hit their emergency lights and attempted to pull over the truck, but the 22-year-old driver “refused to stop” and led them on a chase, according to the post.

On the patrol car’s dashcam video, the driver hits the gas speeding and exits the roadway multiple times.

The sheriff’s car follows closely behind, siren blaring.

The Chevy careens over curbs and lawns and is seen eventually catapulting into an empty parking lot, where the suspect loses control of the vehicle on “wet grass.”

As the driver attempts to regain control of the SUV and get moving again, deputies conducted a “push maneuver,” locking their front bumper to the Chevy’s passenger side. Once the truck is stopped, the suspect attempted to flee. He is taken into custody after a brief foot pursuit.

“Get on the ground! Put your hands behind your back!” a deputy yells, out of breath, as the man complies and is cuffed.

As the suspect sits back in his truck, deputies inform him that he was initially pulled over due to no headlights, but now that they’ve run his plates, they discover he doesn’t have a valid driver’s license and was recently released from prison. The previous case was not mentioned in the report.

During a search of the vehicle, deputies discovered needles and a scale used for drugs, as well as shotgun ammunition.

The driver was arrested and charged with fleeing to elude a law enforcement officer, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, driving with a suspended license, resisting arrest without violence and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He remains behind bars at Marion County Jail.