FLORAL CITY, Fla. — A man is behind bars after deputies say he led them on a chase, crashed into a Floral City home and then ran away on foot, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office said.
The arrest happened Tuesday evening in the area of East Gobbler and South Withlapopka drives in Floral City. Deputies said it started when 20-year-old Traveon Jaquaad Samuels of Sumter County didn't stop at the stop sign at the intersection.
After turning on their emergency lights to pull Samuels over for the infraction, deputies say Samuels started to reverse toward the patrol car before abruptly stopping and making a U-turn.
This started the chase as deputies say Samuels drove "recklessly" through the residential area going upwards of 60 mph in a 30 mph zone.
The release states deputies deployed a tire deflation device, which hit Samuels' car's front right tire. However, this didn't stop him. Instead, deputies say he kept going and even switched to the oncoming traffic lane, nearly hitting a patrol car head-on.
Still trying to evade deputies, authorities say Samuels drove through a backyard only to crash into a nearby home. One person was inside, the sheriff's office said.
After Samuels crashed, deputies say he got out of the car and started to run away on foot but was taken into custody after a short pursuit.
The person inside the home was taken to the hospital for treatment where they are in "stable" condition and recovering; further details about the person's injuries were not made available.
Citrus County K-9 Airborne reportedly did a "free air sniff" around the outside of Samuels' car and alerted deputies to a controlled substance inside. After searching the car, deputies say they found several bags of narcotics, including fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin.
After his arrest, deputies said they learned he had an active arrest warrant out of Putnam County for trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine. In Citrus County, he is currently charged with fleeing and eluding, aggravated assault of law enforcement, resisting without violence, drug possession and separate counts of trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin.
Samuels is being held in the Citrus County Detention Center without bond.
"Samuels has a lengthy criminal history throughout our state and has a habitual disregard for the law," Sheriff Mike Prendergast said in a statement. "He not only put our deputies' safety in immediate danger but endangered the entire community through both his reckless driving and trafficking in illicit narcotics."
"I'm proud of our team's quick actions in ensuring this dangerous criminal was removed from our streets," the sheriff continued. "Thankfully, the individual who was injured in this incident is recovering."
