Driver Rammed a Deputy's Vehicle and Hit an Apartment Building Trying to Flee a Tampa Traffic Stop, Sheriff's Office Says
Deputies say a Thursday morning stop near North 56th Street and Puritan Road ended with a K9 track and an arrest on aggravated battery and fleeing charges.
A Thursday morning traffic stop in Tampa ended with a driver in custody after he backed into a deputy's vehicle and fled, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said. Deputies attempted to stop a silver Nissan near North 56th Street and Puritan Road at 10:46 a.m. on Thursday, according to the sheriff's office account published by ABC Action News.
The sheriff's office said the driver, Stoel Markes Jr., 41, backed into the deputy's vehicle, then struck a street sign and a Tampa city water pipe as he tried to get away. He drove onto a sidewalk at an apartment complex off Heather Lyn Court and struck an apartment building, then ran on foot, officials said. Deputies with the sheriff's K9 Unit tracked him down and took him into custody.
Markes was charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon and felony fleeing to elude, the sheriff's office said. He also faces charges of resisting an officer without violence, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, and driving with a suspended or revoked license, second or subsequent offense.
