An Ocala woman and her guy pal were jailed early Sunday morning after a high-speed pursuit through Ocala.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy spotted a gold Chevy pickup truck accelerating eastbound from the traffic signal at S.W. Broadway Street and S.W. 1st Avenue. The vehicle turned left into S.E. 1st Avenue without slowing down or stopping for the posted stop sign, a sheriff’s office report states.
The deputy activated his emergency lights and siren in an attempt to catch up to the vehicle, which was being driven by 30-year-old Kathryn Ann Stephanopoulos. The pickup crossed over E. Hwy. 40 and failed to stop at two more stop signs, the report says.
The deputy continued to follow the vehicle with his emergency equipment activated for about a half a mile with no response. During that portion of the pursuit, he reported that the pickup was “being driven erratically and weaving within its lane.”
The vehicle eventually stopped at a plaza located at N.E. 9th Street and N. Magnolia Avenue. Because the vehicle had failed to stop earlier, the deputy conducted a “high risk” traffic stop and observed Stephanopoulos with slurred speech and the strong odor of an intoxicating beverage on her breath, the report says.
Stephanopoulos struggled through field sobriety exercises and was placed under arrest. She provided breath samples that showed .185 and .181 blood-alcohol content and after being read her rights, admitted to consuming alcohol and driving a vehicle, the report says.
A second deputy performed a pat-down on Stephanopoulos’ passenger, 31-year-old Eric Michael Overs, and found a set of metal knuckles concealed in his right rear pants pocket. After being read his rights, Overs admitted to possessing the weapon and said he used them for “self-defense due to the life I live,” the report says.
Both Stephanopoulos and Overs, who live at 2531 N.E. 1st Ave. in Ocala, were transported to the Marion County Jail. Stephanopoulos was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. She was released early Monday morning on $1,000 bond and her next court date hasn’t yet been set, jail records show.
Overs was charged with carrying a concealed weapon/unlicensed electric weapon or device. He was released Monday night on $2,000 bond and is due in court Jan. 6 at 8 a.m.