Leesburg man arrested after high speed chase

LEESBURG — Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies, using a high-tech tracking device, arrested a man Monday on several charges, including trying to hit a deputy with his car and eluding law enforcement during a high-speed chase.

Akeem J. Rich, 36, was arrested following an incident that began at 12:59 p.m., at his apartment parking lot at 425 S. Ninth St., according to the arrest affidavit.

Police were searching for Rich because he was wanted on a warrant for habitually driving without a license and fleeing and eluding. They spotted his white Nissan Maxima in the parking lot and an officer drove up to the front of his car.

Deputies ordered him to put the car in park, turn off the ignition and get out of the vehicle, but he put it in reverse.

“The arrestee then put the vehicle in drive and accelerated toward me while I was in its direct path of travel. I had to run out of the vehicle’s path of travel, as I feared for my life,” one of the deputies stated.        

The report said he sped north on South Ninth Street, turned west onto Main Street and turned onto County Road 466A. He was traveling at a high rate of speed, running red lights and stop signs and sometimes driving into oncoming traffic.

A street crimes unit was able to fire an air-compressed StarChase dart onto the back of the car. Following the GPS signal from the device, sheriff’s deputies tracked the car to Birchwood Circle. Deputies saw him running away on foot and caught him.

Rich was charged with resisting officers with violence, fleeing and eluding, habitually driving without a license and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. He was held at the Lake County jail without bond.

Original Source Here: https://www.dailycommercial.com/story/news/crime/2021/03/30/lake-county-crime-briefs/7058873002/