A Webster man was arrested for resisting after refusing to give his name during a traffic stop near 7-Eleven.
An officer on patrol spotted 46-year-old Ryan Ladd Long driving a red Chevrolet pickup truck northbound on U.S. 301 at 10:05 p.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. He closed the distance from five car lengths behind the truck to three, seeing what appeared to be a temporary registration tag.
The officer then stopped the truck at the intersection of U.S. 301 and County Road 462, next to 7-Eleven. He could now clearly see the temporary tag, but he also noticed that the tag lights were extremely dim and yellow. It made the tag hard to read unless he was standing directly behind the vehicle, not from 50 ft or more as required, the report said.
When speaking with Long, the officer informed him of the reason for the stop and asked for his driver’s license. He stated he did not have his license with him, and he had not committed a crime. He said he was headed to a friend’s house and did not feel the need to identify himself, the report said.
Due to this uncooperative and dismissive demeanor, the officer asked Long if he intended to continue refusing to identify himself. He again stated that he did not commit a crime and did not feel obligated to identify himself. So, the officer advised that he would request a supervisor come to the scene to explain the consequences of not identifying himself and to help de-escalate a potentially volatile situation, the report said.
The two were waiting for the supervisor to respond when Long ashed his lit cigarette out of the driver’s side window into the grass median multiple times. Once done, he flicked the lit end into the median and disposed of the rest of the cigarette inside his truck, violating another statute, the report said.
The supervisor then arrived on scene and calmly explained multiple times that Long was legally required to identify himself during traffic stops. Long was then told to step out of the vehicle, which he refused to do. In response, the supervisor opened his door and grabbed his arm to remove him from the vehicle. Long tried to close the door and grabbed the steering wheel to avoid being taken into custody, but he was still handcuffed, the report said.
Long was subsequently put in the back of a patrol vehicle, where he continued refusing to identify himself. The officer proceeded to inventory his vehicle and found a metal clip wallet containing cards with Long’s name on them. They also located his driver’s license, which had been suspended on Jan. 13, the report said.
Long later stated that prior encounters with law enforcement influenced his behavior during this stop, the report said.
He was charged with resisting arrest. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $1,000 bond.