A homeless man in Leesburg was arrested after running from an officer to avoid a warrant and the discovery of drug paraphernalia on his person.
An officer saw 49-year-old Eduardo Diaz Velez walking northbound on North 14th Street near the intersection with Center Street around 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. He recognized Diaz Velez from prior encounters, and dispatch advised that he had an active Lake County warrant for failure to appear for trespassing as of that day.
So, the officer got out of his patrol car and told him that he was under arrest outside of Gateway Plaza, located at 935 N 14th St. The officer then grabbed his forearm to put him in handcuffs. He briefly argued with the officer before escaping from his reach, running down the sidewalk and heading into traffic across the street, the report said.
The officer told law enforcement about this encounter over the radio as he lost sight of Diaz Velez. Other units responded to the area and found him a few moments later. He was in the woods just south of Amada Senior Care, located at 1321 Citizens Blvd., where he was finally detained in handcuffs, the report said.
Due to complaints of being out of breath, Diaz Velez was medically inspected by EMS before being searched. The officer ultimately located a purple and green striped straw with burnt residue in his front left pocket. This later tested positive for crack cocaine, the report said.
The native of Puerto Rico was arrested on charges of drug paraphernalia (possess or use) and resisting (obstructing without violence). He was booked at the Lake County Jail with bond set at $4,000.
He was also arrested in June 2025 for allegedly forcing himself on a woman and in Feb. 2025 for swiping an employee’s purse off the counter at Wawa.