A 17-year-old was arrested Wednesday night after he fled from Marion County sheriff’s deputies in a vehicle and on foot.
The incident started when a deputy saw a vehicle being driven recklessly by the juvenile. It traveled over the white line into the shoulder of the road before fleeing when the deputy attempted a traffic stop.
The deputy followed the vehicle through a shopping plaza and into a residential, area where it almost struck a pedestrian. The juvenile continued to flee and then turned onto Marion Oaks Lane, where he and three passengers fled on foot from the moving vehicle. he deputy stayed with the driver as he fled through the neighborhood and eventually took him into custody in the backyard of a home. He had a loaded .40-caliber handgun that he threw in an attempt to conceal it from the deputy. Several other handguns also were found that had been thrown from the vehicle and deputies weren’t able to locate the three passengers, a report says.
The teenager was arrested and transported to the Marion County Department of Juvenile Justice. The vehicle he was driving had been reported stolen to the Ocala Police Department, the report says.
The juvenile was charged with fleeing, use or display of a firearm during the commission of a felony, carrying a concealed firearm, possession of a firearm by a juvenile, resisting without violence and destruction of evidence. He also was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle by the Ocala Police Department and more charges may be forthcoming as the investigation continues.