A Leesburg man has been tracked down after fleeing a traffic stop at a Circle K.
At about 11:50 p.m. on Sept. 23, a deputy with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office spotted a white 2011 Kia, later found to be driven by 43-year-old Damien Christopher Littleton, in the Circle K parking lot, located at County Road 44 and 473, according to an affidavit of probable cause out of Lake County. The vehicle, whose tag was registered to a 2007 Kia, was known to the deputy from prior police contact during the same shift.
Once the deputy saw the vehicle make a right turn onto County Road 473, he began catching up to it for a traffic stop. The vehicle then turned right onto Poe Street. As the deputy continued catching up, he tried to conduct a traffic stop near Radio Road by turning on his emergency lights and sirens, the affidavit said.
The vehicle then began picking up speed, fleeing the attempted traffic stop. It continued westbound on Poe Street and made a left turn onto County Road 44, the affidavit said.
Another deputy later reviewed video footage from Circle K. The vehicle pulled to the front of the store where the camera pointed directly into the front windshield of the vehicle where the driver remained while other passengers went inside the store, the affidavit said.
The deputy got a clear view of the driver’s face and positively identified him as Littleton from contact with him the day prior. A check of his driver’s license revealed it was revoked on May 9, 2000. Multiple deputies canvassed the area to find Littleton but were unsuccessful. So, an affidavit of probable cause was signed on Oct. 22 for his arrest.
This past Tuesday, several deputies responded to 9293 E. Treasure Island Rd. to find Littleton who now held an active Lake County warrant for fleeing the traffic stop, according to an arrest report from the LCSO. Upon arrival, deputies and a K-9 went to the northwest side of the residence while another deputy positioned herself on the south side of the property between two structures. Littleton walked around a shed-type structure toward the positioned deputy, looked up, saw her and stopped.
The deputy instructed Littleton to walk toward her, to which he asked the deputy to wait. The deputy advised him, “No, you need to come here,” and he responded, “Wait, no.” He then turned around and began running back toward the shed structure. At that point, the deputy told the others Littleton was running and his clothing description, the report said.
Littleton was told to come out of the structure, or a K-9 would be sent in. He kept saying he was going to exit, but it took several minutes. He eventually came out on the southeast side and was taken into custody, the report said.
Littleton stated, “I’m sorry, I was scared. She had a gun in my face.” The report noted that at no time did the deputy have a weapon drawn until Littleton exited the structure before the K-9 was sent in. He could clearly see her uniform and tactical vest patched with “Sheriff.” He also did not comply with her commands to come toward her, turned to flee and hid in the shed-like structure.
Littleton was ultimately arrested for the warrant charging him with flee or elude and driving while license suspended, and he received an additional charge for resisting without violence. He was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $4,000 bond.