Lake County sheriff’s deputies used stop sticks and a K-9 to apprehend a career criminal after a chase in Leesburg on Monday night.
Kevin Allen Bansley, 40, of 2588 CR 245C in Oxford, was charged with fleeing and eluding, resisting arrest without violence, petit theft (two or more convictions), and driving with a suspended or revoked license (third or subsequent offense).
Bansley’s no stranger to local law enforcement. He was convicted of stealing a golf cart in The Villages in 2014, stealing another one around the same time, and stealing a Jeep while out on bond. More recently, Bansley spent a month in Marion County Jail last year for failing to appear on burglary and theft charges, and he was charged in July with failure to appear in Sumter County on a grand theft charge, according to jail records.
Shortly before midnight, a deputy received information about a vehicle with a stolen license plate traveling south on U.S. Hwy. 27 near Eagles Nest Road in Fruitland Park. The deputy tried to initiate a traffic stop near the intersection of Highway 27 and Akron Drive, but the vehicle failed to stop and fled at a high speed, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The deputy did not pursue the vehicle, but several other deputies were ahead of them and successfully deployed stop sticks near the intersection of Fairfax Street and Mariva Avenue in Leesburg. A passenger remained in the vehicle and was detained, but Bansley jumped out of the driver’s seat and fled northbound into the woods, the report said.
K-9 Jim was deployed and tracked Bansley northbound, crossing over a fence, through tall grass and over a small canal to dry land. The dog found Bansley hiding in some tall grass and apprehended him. The dog let go of Bansley when commanded by deputies. Bansley was treated for dog bites at Blue Cedar Hospital, according to the report.
Asked why he fled, Bansley said he was nervous. He admitted he had a bad license, the report said.
Bansley is being held in the Lake County Jail on $20,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on Oct. 10.
