On Tuesday evening, April 23rd, deputies arrested 20-year-old Traveon Jaquaad Samuels of Sumter County after a vehicle pursuit ended in a crash into a home in Floral City. The chase began when deputies observed Samuels failing to stop at a stop sign and attempted to pull him over. Instead of stopping, Samuels reversed towards the patrol car, then abruptly made a U-turn and sped away through residential streets.
During the pursuit, Samuels reached speeds of up to 60 mph in a 30 mph zone and drove recklessly, nearly colliding head-on with another patrol car. Despite efforts to stop him, including deploying a tire deflation device, Samuels continued to evade deputies until crashing into a nearby home where an individual was inside. The victim was taken to the hospital and is currently in stable condition.
After abandoning his vehicle and attempting to flee on foot, Samuels was eventually apprehended by deputies. K-9 Airborne detected the presence of illicit narcotics in Samuels’ vehicle, leading to the discovery of several bags of drugs, including fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin.
“Samuels has a lengthy criminal history throughout our state and has a habitual disregard for our citizens’ safety in the process,” said Sheriff Mike Prendergast. “I am proud of our team’s quick actions in ensuring this dangerous criminal was removed from our streets. Thankfully, the individual who was injured in this incident is recovering.”
Samuels faces multiple charges including fleeing and eluding with disregard for safety, trafficking in fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin, possession of controlled substances, possession of marijuana, aggravated assault on law enforcement, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resisting law enforcement without violence.
Samuels is currently held at the Citrus County Detention Center without bond pending further legal proceedings.
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