An Ocala man was arrested after reportedly trying to flee and then resisting officers who wanted to question him about fires he was lighting in the middle of a street.
Jonathan Boneta Jimenez, 32, of 12240 SW 66th St., was charged with resisting an officer without violence and disorderly public intoxication after the incident, which happened recently in front of his residence.
Boneta Jimenez’s sister called 911 and reported he was intoxicated and lighting fires in the middle of the road. When Marion County sheriff’s deputies arrived, they saw Boneta Jimenez’s sister dumping buckets of water in the middle of the road. When she saw the deputies, she pointed at Jimenez, who was walking east on SW 66th Street, according to the sheriff’s office report.
A deputy told Boneta Jimenez he needed to speak to him, and Boneta Jimenez started to run eastbound on foot. He refused to listen to commands to stop, the report said.
Deputies pursued Boneta Jimenez to a nearby driveway, where he allowed them to place him in handcuffs. While being walked back to the patrol vehicle, Boneta Jimenez started flailing and pulling away from the deputies, who brought him to the ground. At that point, Boneta Jimenez started kicking and trying to get back onto his feet, according to the report.
A deputy applied knee strikes to Boneta Jimenez’s leg but he continued to tense his legs and arms. The deputy tried to apply a hobble (leg restraint) and eventually had to use a taser to bring him under control and place him total appendage restraints until further units arrived, the report said.
The deputy smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Boneta Jimenez’s breath while he was breathing heavily from resisting. A search of Boneta Jimenez’s pocket turned up a red lighter, according to the report.
After Boneta Jimenez was detained, his sister told the deputy he suffers from severe mental health disorders. She said he came home drunk and started lighting piles of pine needles on fire in the middle of the road. Boneta Jimenez’s sister showed deputies three piles that she had to pour water on, the report said.
Boneta Jimenez’s sister also showed deputies an advertising sign that he had put on the ground and lit, causing a small grass fire that she had to put out, according to the report.
After being read his Miranda warning, Boneta Jimenez said he did light the pine needles on fire but only so he could light a cigarette. He also said he ran because he has the right to disobey a lawful command from law enforcement if he feels like his safety is being threatened, the report said.
Boneta Jimenez will remain in the Marion County Jail until May 25.