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Ocala
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Convicted felon with active warrants arrested after fleeing OPD officers, crashing car

A 43-year-old convicted felon and registered sex offender with multiple active warrants was arrested after he fled from several Ocala Police Department officers and crashed his car.

On Wednesday, June 1 at around 5 p.m., an OPD Officer observed a white Dodge Challenger Hellcat that was traveling northbound on NW Martin Luther Jr. Avenue. The officer noticed that the driver, later identified as Frank Dykes, was not wearing a seatbelt, and the officer initiated a traffic stop.

Frank Dykes
Frank Dykes

According to an OPD social media post, the officer was familiar with Dykes’ vehicle since it had fled from the police department on multiple occasions. The vehicle stopped in the drive-thru of a local restaurant, and the officer approached the vehicle.

The officer detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. When the officer asked for Dykes’ driver’s license, insurance, and registration, Dykes accelerated the vehicle and exited the drive-thru onto NW 10th Street.

Dykes began traveling at a high rate of speed and struggled to maintain control of his vehicle. He nearly collided with another OPD officer’s patrol car. The officer inside that patrol car watched as Dykes’ vehicle spun out at the intersection of NW 14th Avenue and NW 10th Street, and it struck a stop sign.

Dykes exited the vehicle and began fleeing on foot as the vehicle slowly rolled into a tree. Both officers caught up to Dykes after a short foot chase, and he was detained in handcuffs.

A search of Dykes’ vehicle was conducted, and the officers located 25 grams of raw marijuana and a loaded handgun.

Dykes was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held without bond. He is facing multiple felony charges, including driving while his license is suspended or revoked (third or subsequent offense), possession of drug paraphernalia, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, resisting without violence, aggravated fleeing and eluding, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of marijuana (over 20 grams).

At the time of the traffic stop, Dykes was a registered sex offender in the state of Florida but had not registered himself. He had an active Marion County warrant for this, and he also had five additional warrants out of Marion County for the following charges: sale of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to sell, failure to appear for fleeing and eluding, failure to appear for jury selection, driving while license suspended or revoked (felony), and resisting or obstructing an officer without violence.

A court date has been scheduled on Tuesday, July 5 at 9 a.m., according to jail records.