A Webster man who was stopped at Leesburg High School for drunk driving was also charged for resisting arrest when he ran handcuffed into a pond.
An officer observed the driver of a blue four-door passenger vehicle, later identified as 36-year-old Mathew Leon Avant, traveling at high speeds around 11:38 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. The vehicle was headed northbound on 14th Street, and it crossed over both marked lines of its lane into the adjacent lane.
Seeing this, the officer turned on his overhead emergency lights to conduct a traffic stop near Leesburg High School at 14th Street and Yellow Jacket Way. He then approached Avant and explained the reason for the traffic stop. A check using Avant’s license showed it was suspended on Aug. 26 for failure to pay financial obligations, the report said.
While speaking with Avant, the officer noticed his eyes were bloodshot. He could smell the distinct odor of alcoholic drinks coming from his breath as he spoke. The officer determined he was potentially under the influence of alcohol and asked him to participate in field sobriety exercises, the report said.
Avant agreed, but his performance, which included staggering and unsteady standing, led the officer to conclude he was impaired while under the influence. He was subsequently placed in handcuffs and instructed to face the front of the patrol vehicle to be searched, the report said.
During this process, Avant broke free from the officer holding his right arm. He fled on foot with his hands cuffed behind him. He continued to run while the officer instructed him multiple times to stop, the report said.
Avant instead lunged into a nearby pond and began to try swimming away. The officer regained control over him and returned him to the patrol vehicle. He was later brought to the LPD where he gave breath samples of 0.0126 and 0.135, the report said.
Avant was charged with DUI and resisting (obstructing without violence). He was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $2,000 bond.