A Belleview man tried to claim a woman was driving his Corvette while he allegedly led police on a chase that ended when the officer’s patrol car skidded off the road and crashed into tree debris.
Sean Devero Carpenter, 51, of 4411 SE 51st Place, was charged with driving while licensed suspended (second offense) and not having a valid registration.
A Belleview Police officer was driving north on SE 50th Avenue Road at around 1 a.m. Wednesday when a silver Corvette came from the other direction with its high beams on, temporarily blinding the officer. The officer got a glancing look at the driver and recognized him as someone who is known to have a suspended license, according to the police report.
The officer turned the patrol vehicle around and started trying to catch up with the Corvette with the blue emergency lights activated. The chase continued until the officer had to brake and skidded off the road and into tree debris in the 11900 block of SE 50th Avenue Road, the report said.
Another officer responded to Carpenter’s shop, located at 12006 SE Highway 484, where he observed Carpenter walking in the area. Carpenter told the officer that a woman was driving his vehicle. At first, the woman said she was driving before admitting that Carpenter was behind the wheel. The woman said she didn’t even know how to drive a stick shift, according to the report.
Carpenter then claimed he was teaching the woman how to drive a stick. He was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was released Wednesday afternoon on $2,000 bond. No court information was available.