A Leesburg teen was arrested early Friday morning after crashing his car on County Road 25 in rural Marion County. The driver had been fleeing from the police when he crashed his car on the outskirts of Lady Lake.
When Marion County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the crash scene, they were told by witnesses that they saw a man exit the car and run toward the east into an agricultural area. A Marion County Aviation Unit spotted a man attempting to conceal himself in an open field about 150 yards from the overturned car.
Deputies went into the field and arrested 19-year-old Jamari Jones. Jones, who stands 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 280 pounds, repeatedly asked the deputies how they knew where he was hiding. When he was found, Jones was only wearing men’s underwear.
The deputies searched Jones’ vehicle once the tow truck was able to get it right side up. They found several firearms, including one which had been reported stolen out of Lake County. There were also drug paraphernalia, a scale and 1,000 grams of marijuana most of which was packaged in individual baggies of the same weight. Deputies also found a rifle in the trunk with a sawed-off barrel. In the area where the car overturned, the deputies found several items of clothing which appeared to have been discarded when Jones ran from the car. One item that was recovered was a pair of gym shorts which had $1,600 in cash in its pockets.
Jones was booked at the Lake County Jail on multiple charges. He was released after posting $18,000 bond.
