An Ocala man with a large amount of fentanyl was arrested after climbing a tree to escape a traffic stop.
An officer stopped a red Chevrolet Malibu with a partially covered license plate at Miller Street and Villa Avenue at 8 p.m. Wednesday, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department. While speaking with the female driver, he noticed the passenger, 22-year-old Jakiel Trevion Monroe, was not wearing a seatbelt.
When asked for his name, Monroe gave a false one and claimed to be 17. But he had a lighter attached to a retractable leash on his waistband, which he claimed was because his mother allowed him to smoke cigars. The officer was still talking to the driver when Monroe got out of the vehicle and began to flee, the report said.
He refused to close the door when asked, so the officer deployed several taser probes into his abdomen. Monroe fell to the ground briefly before returning to his feet and running westbound into a nearby backyard, jumping a fence onto another property. The officer subsequently requested help from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Lady Lake Police Department to establish a perimeter, the report said.
A drone was used to find Monroe in a wooded area southwest of the traffic stop. Law enforcement eventually located him hiding about 10 ft up in a tree. They ordered him several times to come down and show his hands, but he refused. He was ultimately arrested without further incident, the report said.
During the search, the driver advised that Monroe was a friend of hers. She identified him by his real name, which determined that he had an active warrant out of Lake County for simple battery and trespassing. She also revoked her consent for officers to search her vehicle, the report said.
However, a positive alert from a K-9 meant the vehicle was to be searched regardless. Officers discovered a plastic container with 13.5 grams of fentanyl between the center console and the front passenger seat, the report said.
The driver then stated that she knew Monroe sold narcotics based on conversations she had overheard. She had taken him to some friends’ house, identifying them as “white people.” She insinuated that they bought narcotics from Monroe, but she was unsure, the report said.
She added that Monroe had removed the bag of power from his pocket and left it in the vehicle before he ran. He encouraged her to flee from the traffic stop, but she refused since she was on probation, the report said.
Monroe was arrested on charges of trafficking fentanyl (13.5 grams), provide false name to law enforcement officer and resist officer without violence. He was booked at the Lake County Jail with bond set at $108,000.