A Summerfield man was arrested for driving with a suspended license despite trying to swap places with his girlfriend during a traffic stop.
A deputy observed 42-year-old Rocky Michael Fitzgerald in a tan SUV heading north on Southeast 36th Avenue in Summerfield around 11 p.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
The vehicle had a broken taillight, so the deputy pulled out onto the road to catch up. It then aggressively turned eastbound onto Southeast 141st Lane, which was a dirt road. As the deputy approached the same turn, he saw the vehicle rapidly speeding up in an apparent attempt to get away from being stopped, the report said.
The deputy continued to follow the vehicle for several hundred feet, at which point it aggressively pulled into a front yard. When the vehicle stopped, he saw Fitzgerald and the female passenger, his girlfriend, quickly get out and cross over at the back of the vehicle to make it look like she drove, the report said.
The deputy approached them and asked Fitzgerald why he was driving “like 60 mph” down the dirt road. He immediately stated he was not driving, but his girlfriend was. She agreed with this, even when the deputy said he saw them switch places behind the vehicle, the report said.
Fitzgerald was subsequently detained in handcuffs and asked if he had a driver’s license. He stated it was in his wallet, but he believed it was suspended. He was also read his rights and refused to admit he drove during questioning, the report said.
A record check revealed Fitzgerald’s license was suspended as of Aug. 27, 2024, for failing to pay child support and two different traffic citations. He also had three convictions for driving while license suspended from June 2018, Oct. 2017 and June 2013 in Marion County. There was an additional guilty conviction for the same charge in Aug. 2024 in Sumter County, the report said.
Fitzgerald was subsequently arrested and put in the back of a patrol vehicle. The deputy went back to the SUV to speak with his girlfriend and saw they had a young daughter in the backseat. He told the girlfriend that she could be arrested for resisting, too, but he did not want her daughter to suffer for her parents’ mistakes and let her off with a verbal warning, the report said.
Fitzgerald was charged with resist officer (obstruct without violence) and driving while license suspended second or subsequent offense). He was transported to Marion County Jail and released after posting $2,000 bond.