A man in Mulberry, Florida allegedly gulped down a baggy containing methamphetamine, in addition to nearly smashing his car into a police vehicle while the authorities tried to apprehend him.
Last week, deputies with the Polk County Police attempted to pull over a Dodge Ram truck for a traffic stop.
According to the police department’s press release, instead of pulling over, the operator of the vehicle reportedly made a U-turn and began to drive away from the deputies.
The deputies followed the pickup truck and law enforcement tried to use a P.I.T., which stands for “Precision Immobilization Technique,” to force the driver to stop.
When the truck hit the P.I.T. it began spinning around giving the authorities the impression that the driver had lost control of the vehicle, but he was able to right the Dodge and allegedly accelerated in the direction of a police car with an officer seated inside. The Ram did not make an impact with the officer’s car, but the driver reportedly took off again and plowed over a residential fence before slamming into a shed.
As the deputies identified the driver as 43-year-old Darrell Bailey, they also learned that the man was wanted on an active warrant for two counts of failing to register as a sex offender.
The deputies talked with Bailey, and the man reportedly told them that his reason for trying to escape was that might have had warrants, and he was holding methamphetamine, which he allegedly swallowed in an attempt to keep himself out of further legal trouble.
While discussing the near-miss impact with the police car, the suspect reportedly said that he purposely navigated his truck so that it would not crash into it.
Bailey was placed under arrest at the scene, and when the officers searched him they reportedly found some alprazolam pills and paraphernalia.
Bailey was booked into the county jail for suspicion of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing to elude law enforcement, tampering with evidence, criminal mischief over $1,000, possession of methamphetamine, possession of alprazolam, breaking/injuring a fence, possession of drug paraphernalia and knowingly driving while a license was suspended/revoked. He is being held without bond.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a crime, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.