A Summerfield habitual traffic offender found himself behind bars Monday on multiple charges after allegedly fleeing from a Marion County sheriff’s deputy.
The deputy was conducting a routine patrol on Saturday when he spotted a white Dodge Durango traveling north on S.E. 36th Avenue from the intersection of S.E. 145th Street. The deputy reported that the driver, later identified as 26-year-old Frank Carmen Cirullo, was traveling at a high rate of speed. The deputy ran a license plate check on the vehicle and discovered the tag belonged to a gray Volvo, a sheriff’s office report states.
The deputy reported seeing the Durango turn right on S.E. 134th Place without using a signal, then make a wide turn and cross over the double yellow line. The SUV continued to travel in the middle of the road and weaved from side to side, the report says.
Cirullo then abruptly hit his brakes and pulled into a residential driveway without using a turn signal. The deputy initiated a traffic stop and as he was exiting his patrol vehicle, Cirullo drove away, the report says.
The deputy initiated a pursuit but lost sight of Cirullo’s vehicle near the intersection of S.E. 38th Court and S.E. 130th Street because of dust from the dirt road they were traveling on. A short time later, the deputy spotted the vehicle at the intersection of S.E. 38th Court and S.E. 130th Street, where it had been abandoned in front of a residence. Multiple deputies responded, set up a perimeter and a K-9 team started searching for Cirullo, the report says.
While checking the vehicle, the deputy found a recent receipt from a Dollar General store and a folded piece of aluminum on the driver’s seat containing a crystal substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine. Another deputy responded to the store and reviewed video surveillance of Cirullo making the purchase. The reported noted that Cirullo matched the description of the person driving the vehicle.
While on the perimeter, a deputy noted a black utility vehicle circling the area where the K-9 dog was tracking Cirullo. The vehicle eventually stopped near the white Durango and the driver told a deputy he was Cirullo’s brother and he had heard he was in “trouble.” He denied being in contact with Cirullo but said his brother had been calling his cell phone.
The deputy called Cirullo but didn’t get an answer. He then received a text from Cirullo saying that he would turn himself in, the report says.
After being taken into custody Monday, Cirullo was charged with driving while license suspended (habitual offender), resisting/eluding an officer with lights and siren active and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. He was being held on $15,000 bond and is due in court Sept. 8 at 9 a.m.
