A Gainesville man was arrested with marijuana and pills following a reckless chase that ended on Interstate 75 in Sumter County.
A trooper stopped a vehicle for multiple traffic violations along I-75 south of County Road 476B in Sumter County at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Florda Highway Patrol. The driver, later identified as 31-year-old Josephus Benjamin Bell, pulled over on the outside shoulder of the roadway.
As the trooper approached the vehicle on foot, Bell rapidly accelerated along the outside shoulder of the roadway and merged back into traffic along southbound I-75. The trooper began to overtake the vehicle with his emergency equipment and sirens activated. Bell continued to flee from the traffic stop, the report said.
Bell passed traffic using both shoulders of the roadway and drove recklessly while doing so. He got off the interstate, drove through an intersection at high speeds, and re-entered I-75. He continued to drive recklessly by speeding through traffic even as his back left tire went flat, the report said.
Bell also passed traffic on the right shoulder of the roadway. He then pulled over and gave up. He was subsequently arrested, the report said.
While approaching Bell’s vehicle again, the trooper could smell the odor of marijuana coming from inside. A search of the vehicle revealed two MDMA pills in the driver’s seat. There were also two plastic sandwich baggies with marijuana inside an opened chip bag. Another plastic bag with marijuana was found on the front passenger-side floorboard, the report said.
A check of Bell’s driving history revealed multiple suspensions on his license. He also advised that he was currently on probation, the report said.
After being read his rights, Bell stated he knew of the marijuana, MDMA, fleeing and the status of his driver’s license. He also thought he may have violated his probation due to being arrested, the report said.
Bell was ultimately arrested on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of controlled substance without prescription, driving while license suspended (habitual offender), flee/elude police (flee with disregard of safety to persons or property), reckless driving (damage person or property), resist officer (obstruct without violence) and violation of probation. He was transported to Sumter County Detention Center to be held without bond.