PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office arrested an Orlando man after a high-speed pursuit of a stolen vehicle on September 17.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop after receiving notification of a stolen vehicle traveling from Clay County into Putnam County on State Road 100.
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The driver, 39-year-old Dennis Farris of Orlando, continued to drive erratically, says the sheriff’s office.
Despite deputies using stop sticks in two locations, Farris continued driving into Palatka on just the rims, with pieces of tire and debris trailing behind him.
The Palatka Police Department soon joined the pursuit. Deputies were authorized to use a PIT maneuver. Farris lost control of the car and overturned near the weigh station.
The sheriff’s office says deputies saw a woman passenger and a dog trapped inside Farris’s car. They were able to pull all occupants from the car. Deputies also found a gun and ammunition after a search of the car.
Farris is a convicted felon who was released in June. He has also served four prison terms.
“This individual has a prolific history of crime from assault on a pregnant woman to multiple vehicle thefts,” Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach said.
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“He has never learned his lesson, and he has no regard for human life, as seen yesterday, when not only did he endanger other motorists, pedestrians, and my deputies, but he had no concern for his passenger. His sole focus was to not go back to prison. Unfortunately for him, we plan to send him right back. Maybe if he didn’t want to go back, he should have learned that lesson any of the four times he was there.”
Farris was arrested and charged with:
- vehicle theft
- fleeing and eluding law enforcement
- 5 counts of possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon
- resisting an officer without violence
- 5 counts of moving traffic violations
Farris was held on $154,250 bond.
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