A Leesburg man was arrested for fleeing from a traffic stop after law enforcement spotted him running a stop sign.
Police observed the driver of a black Hyundai Elantra, later identified as 38-year-old Marcus Antoine Troutman, running a four-way stop sign on Tuskegee Street and Harlem Avenue around 6 p.m. Nov. 24, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
After seeing this, the officer turned on his overhead lights and tried initiating a traffic stop. The driver did not obey, instead continuing southbound on Tuskegee Street. The vehicle then turned onto Mispah Avenue and pulled into the apartment complex on 2206 Mispah Av. The officer parked behind the vehicle, and Troutman went inside the apartment to hide from officers, the report said.
The officer situated himself on the west side of the apartment building to monitor the front and back doors until other officers arrived on scene. They later spoke to Troutman’s wife at the front door of the apartment, and she advised that he was inside the residence. She also said that he told her what happened, the report said.
Troutman subsequently met the officers at the front door and was placed into custody. He was put in the back of a patrol vehicle where he agreed to speak with officers. Troutman stated that he knew he ran the stop sign and saw the officer behind him. He did not stop for the traffic stop because he was trying to get home to his children, the report said.
Additionally, a check of Troutman’s driving history showed that he did not have a driver’s license, the report said.
Troutman was charged with resisting (obstructing without violence), fee/elude (refuse to stop) and operating motor vehicle without driver’s license. He was also given a written warning for running a stop sign. He was transported to the Lake County Jail and released after posting $4,000.
