The apprehension of a drug suspect tied up traffic near a busy shopping plaza in The Villages.
Deputies saw a silver 2007 BMW 530xi make an illegal U-turn in The Villages around 12:15 p.m. Saturday, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. Due to this, they stopped the driver, 32-year-old Dontee Travon Canady of Wildwood, near Pinellas Plaza.
Canady said he did not have his driver’s license on him, but the deputies could look up his information. He also stated his license had not been suspended. But a check of his driving history revealed he indeed had an active suspension, the report said.
He was handcuffed and escorted over to the patrol vehicle. The deputies were trying to search him when he began to run to the left. One of them then grabbed his jacket and tried to get control of Canady who pulled away to continue running across the road. Witnesses in the area said the pursuit tied up traffic on County Road 466A.
The deputies were ultimately able to gain control of Canady as he fell onto the shoulder of the median, the report said.
The deputies proceeded to search Canady’s vehicle and found a black cylindrical grinder with marijuana in the glove box. This led to his arrest, and they brought him to the Sumter County Detention Center. He would not give a definitive answer about talking to law enforcement, so he was not questioned, the report said.
Canady was then removed from the back of the patrol vehicle where the deputies discovered a plastic baggie with 2.38 grams of cocaine shoved under the front passenger seat. There was another baggie with more marijuana, bringing the total to 0.75 grams, and a green tablet with a dinosaur engraving under the rear passenger seat, the report said.
He was charged with prisoner escape or attempt escape, possession of cocaine, resist (obstruct without violence), possession of marijuana (less than 20 grams), drug equipment (possess or use) and driving while license suspended. Bond was set at $12,000, and a Lake County hold for battery was placed on him.
Canady was also arrested in Jan. 2025 for allegedy attacking his girlfriend at her apartment.