A Leesburg man on a bicycle was arrested after being tackled through a fence for pedaling away from a traffic stop with drugs.
An officer spotted 52-year-old Phill Romaughn Perry on a bicycle without front or rear lighting in the westbound lane of Montclair Road and North Lone Oak Drive on Tuesday evening, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
The officer tried to conduct a traffic stop on Perry who continued riding away from him, turning southbound on Lone Oak Drive. During the turn, Perry looked back and made direct eye contact with the officer. He then turned into the driveway of 2215 Montclair Rd. and began traveling northbound, the report said.
Perry started pedaling faster in an obvious fleeing attempt. The officer gave his information to other nearby officers using police radio. He also yelled at Perry several times to stop his bicycle, which he refused to do, the report said.
The officer continued trying to stop Perry, during which he saw him pull a purple pack of 305 cigarettes from his left pocket. He dug through the pack as he hid it in his lap. Another officer then arrived in the area, got out of his patrol vehicle and took down Perry to apprehend him, the report said.
During this process, the officer tackled Perry, causing both to hit the ground through a plastic fence on the property of 2201 Montclair Rd. The officers handcuffed Perry and placed him under arrest for resisting an officer without violence. He was asked for his name, and he said it was “Christopher Wallace” with a birthdate of July 14, 1972. Dispatch was unable to find any information using that name and date of birth, the report said.
One of the officers found the cigarette pack about 2 feet from where Perry was apprehended. Near it was a broken glass pipe, consistent with a device used to take illicit narcotics, which had black residue. A check inside the cigarette pack revealed a small off-white rock substance, which appeared to be crack cocaine. A field test later confirmed it to be cocaine that weighed 0.3 grams, the report said.
Perry complained of back pain, and Lake County Fire Rescue was contacted to respond. They arrived and evaluated Perry, who requested transport to UF Health Leesburg Hospital, located at 600 E. Dixie Ave., for treatment, the report said.
The Fruitland Park Police Department was asked to respond with RapidID, an identification system that uses fingerprints. While they were on the way, people claiming to be Perry’s nieces arrived and stated they recognized the bicycle. They believed the subject to be their uncle, “Phill Perry,” the report said.
An in-house records check revealed Perry’s name and date of birth. The officer compared the identification photograph, which appeared to be the same person. Additionally, Perry showed an active warrant out of Lake County for violation of probation. When confronted with the false name, Perry confirmed his true identity, the report said.
After being medically cleared, Perry was charged with possession of crack cocaine, drug paraphernalia (possess or use), resisting (obstructing without violence) and false ID to law enforcement officer (arrest or lawfully detained). He was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $5,500.