Traffic stop turns into fentanyl arrest after man flees from police

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Earlier this week, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office attempted to pull a vehicle over for driving without lights, but the suspect fled the scene, leaving fentanyl behind in his car.

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Reports from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office state that a dark Chevrolet was driving on I-95 at 11 p.m. with no lights. One patrol car activated their lights and sirens, but the car did not pull over. After a second patrol car joined in and pulled up alongside the Chevy, the driver began to slow and pull onto the shoulder.

Before police could approach the vehicle, the driver, identified as Leroy Vernon, jumped out of the vehicle and continued to run south.

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Police state that as he was running, Vernon reached for his waistband multiple times, leading officers to believe he had a gun. The suspect continued to run down the road, before he jumped into a side ditch and continued to flee.

The Officers were able to taze Vernon twice before he stopped running. However, he continued to fight police leading to a brief struggle, but both vernon and officers were medically cleared and he was arrested.

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When police went back to search Vernon’s car, multiple grams of fentanyl were found along with drug paraphernalia indicating that Vernon had used and intended to use the fentanyl.

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