An Ocala man with an expired license tag ended up behind bars Wednesday after fleeing from a Marion County sheriff’s deputy.
The deputy attempted to stop a tan 2002 Toyota four-door vehicle on W Hwy. 40 after verifying the license tag had expired on Oct. 12. The driver, later identified as 28-year-old Patrick Jay Thompson, waved his hand out the window and appeared to be looking for a place to pull over, a sheriff’s office report states.
Thompson eventually pulled into a gas station but quickly exited the parking lot onto Hwy. 200 and the deputy initiated a pursuit. Thompson eventually pulled into his residence at 501 SE 13th St. in Ocala and ran inside Apt 8. After multiple verbal commands to surrender, he eventually exited the apartment through a window and was placed in handcuffs and then in the back of the deputy’s patrol vehicle.
A computer check showed that Thompson’s driver’s license had been suspended indefinitely on Sept. 14, 2015 for failing to pay court financial obligations. It also showed that Thompson’s license had been revoked in June 2013 and again in February.
After being read his rights, Thompson said he saw the deputy’s flashing lights and heard his siren but was scared because he didn’t have a valid driver’s license and he wanted to get home to his girlfriend, the report says.
Thompson was transported to the Marion County Jail and charged fleeing/eluding a law enforcement officer with lights and siren active, obstructing without violence and knowingly driving while license suspended or revoked. He is being held on no bond on two of the charges and is due in court Nov. 19 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charges.