A golf driver was taken into custody at taser point at BJ’s Wholesale Club.
Joshua Steven Mitchell, 26, of Wildwood, was driving a tan Yamaha golf cart on Buenos Aires Boulevard at 11:39 p.m. Monday when a Sumter County sheriff’s deputy tried to initiate a traffic stop due to the golf cart traveling on a roadway where golf carts are not allowed.
The convicted golf cart thief stopped in the parking lot of Publix at Spanish Plaines Plaza but sprinted from the scene. He crossed U.S. Hwy. 441 and headed for BJ’s Wholesale Club. A deputy pointed a taser at Mitchell, who finally surrendered and was handcuffed.
Mitchell was having difficulty breathing so deputies summoned The Villages Public Safety Department to the scene. He was transported by ambulance to UF Health-The Villages Hospital. Medical staffers found that Mitchell had “a used syringe tied around his male genitalia.” The syringe contained a substance which tested positive for fentanyl.
He was arrested on drug charges as well as a charge of resisting arrest. He was issued a written warning for the traffic infraction. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center on $4,000 bond.
