An Ocala mother with her daughter in her car was tasered after fleeing the 7-Eleven at Fruitland Park.
Police observed a black Saturn utility vehicle with an expired Wisconsin tag sitting in the 7-Eleven parking lot, located at 2058 U.S. Hwy. 27/441, at around 10:39 p.m. Nov. 1, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department.
The vehicle began to reverse out of its parking spot, but officers conducted a traffic stop on the driver, later identified as 39-year-old Dezira Maria Starling, and her daughter. Starling gave the fake name “Desira,” which came back with no information when checked. She then gave the officers her real name. This time, officers discovered she had a warrant out of Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the report said.
Officers ordered Starling to turn off the vehicle while putting her at taser point. With her daughter still in the vehicle, she immediately made a sudden move to put the vehicle in drive. One of the officers deployed his taser and struck Starling on the left side of her body, but she still fled the parking lot from the north exit, the report said.
Starling began traveling northbound on U.S. Hwy. 27/441 with a deflated or damaged left rear wheel. Officers clearly heard screeching of brakes and tires in the area where her vehicle was last seen. They responded to the area to ensure she had not been involved in a vehicle collision, the report said.
Upon arrival, officers saw where Starling had driven over a positive median barrier crossing southbound traffic before stopping on Lake Ella Road and U.S. Hwy 27/441, the report said. A witness advised that the subjects had run through the yard of his business. Officers proceeded to pursue Starling and her daughter on foot. They were apprehended at Custom Paint Creations on 2740 Lake Ella Road, just south of their abandoned vehicle.
While in custody, Starling was given medical attention for her left shoulder and searched for any illegal narcotics or weapons. Officers did not find anything on her, so they moved on to searching her vehicle, the report said.
A green leafy substance was discovered inside a large sandwich-sized bag, which the officers believed to be marijuana. More of this substance was found inside an over-the-counter pill bottle. Additionally, an unused syringe with a liquid substance was found. Its contents tested positive for fentanyl, the report said.
Once Starling’s brother’s girlfriend took custody of her daughter, Starling was arrested and charged with resisting an officer without violence, child neglect, flee and elude, possession of fentanyl and provide false identification. The Georgia native was transported to the Lake County Jail with bond set at $27,000.
