Leesburg man captured and wrestled to ground after wife’s plea for help

A Leesburg man was wrestled to the ground by deputies after fleeing a traffic stop and refusing orders following an alleged suicide attempt.

Deputies were dispatched to 10640 Treadway School Road regarding a woman stating that her husband, later identified as 36-year-old Chad Scott Claycomb, was trying to hang himself with a cord around his neck at about 5:14 a.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. 

About a minute later, dispatch advised that Claycomb drove away from the residence in a gray 2500 Ram truck. Deputies were given the tag number assigned to the truck which had reportedly driven at a high rate of speed past the residence according to Claycomb’s wife, the report said. 

One of the deputies was heading northbound on County Road 473, about to make a lefthand turn onto Treadway School Road, when he spotted a gray truck matching the description of Claycomb’s vehicle at a stop sign east of the deputy. He made a righthand turn onto Camp Street which was when he saw Claycomb in the driver’s seat of his vehicle. The deputy recognized him from previous law enforcement encounters, the report said. 

The deputy then began conducting a traffic stop on the vehicle to do a welfare check on Claycomb, noting that his truck’s right rear taillight was out. As the deputy activated his lights, the truck turned left onto Moore Street. The deputy next turned on his sirens, but the truck made a left turn onto Grant Avenue and began to flee at a high rate of speed, the report said. 

Due to this behavior, the deputy stopped his pursuit to instead give the truck’s location through radio communications. He continued to drive to the residence to meet Claycomb’s wife and her two children. The report noted that the deputy lost sight of Claycomb at that time. 

Upon arriving at the residence, the deputy parked his vehicle on the south side of the house and walked from the back to the front door on the north side. He walked around the house and saw Claycomb inside with his wife who was holding a small child. He made his way to the front door and announced himself as law enforcement, asking Claycomb to come outside and speak to deputies, the report said. 

Claycomb advised that he was not coming outside each time the deputy announced himself. His wife walked out of the front door with her small child in her hands, and he locked the door. After being continually advised to step outside, he then opened the door to let his wife back inside, the report said. 

Due to Claycomb trying to hang himself, fleeing and eluding law enforcement, refusing to meet with officers outside and bringing his wife back inside the house with children, one of the deputies attempted to put his foot in the door threshold to keep the door from closing and preventing a visual of Claycomb and his family. Claycomb responded by walking aggressively toward the deputy, the report said. 

This resulted in the deputy taking Claycomb to the ground to be restrained. He was actively fighting with law enforcement and failed to obey lawful orders. While deputies tried to bring him to the ground, he kicked one in the chest, causing his body camera to fall to the ground. He was ultimately placed under arrest, the report said. 

Claycomb was charged with battery on law enforcement, resist officer with violence and fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement. He was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $15,000.