A 39-year-old Wildwood man is facing multiple felony charges after he fled from a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, trapping a passenger who was preparing to throw herself from the moving vehicle to escape.
Sheldon Lemont Rich was arrested Monday evening on charges of false imprisonment, fleeing to elude law enforcement, driving with a suspended license as a habitual offender, and resisting arrest.
The incident began at about 7:38 p.m. when a trooper on routine patrol spotted a white Infiniti SUV with a fully tinted front windshield traveling west on State Road 44 near Interstate 75. The trooper activated his emergency lights and siren, but Rich refused to stop.
The pursuit continued onto County Road 231 and then east on County Road 462. During the chase, the trooper observed a female passenger sticking her hands out of the front window. Moments later, the passenger door opened slightly while the vehicle was still in motion.
The woman, who owned the SUV, later told the trooper she and Rich had just met up and were heading to a friend’s house when the police pulled behind them. She begged Rich numerous times to stop and let her out, but he refused. She told the trooper she opened the door because she was preparing to throw herself out of the moving vehicle to get away.
Rich eventually pulled into the front yard of a residence at 9633 NE 2nd Drive and fled on foot toward a wooded area.
The trooper pursued Rich on foot, shouting “Taser! Taser!” before deploying the device into Rich’s back. The first deployment failed to incapacitate him, and a second attempt in dart mode missed. The trooper was ultimately able to tackle and subdue Rich on the ground.
A computer check revealed Rich’s driver’s license had been revoked since 2018, and he was designated a habitual traffic offender in May 2022. He also had two active felony warrants out of Sumter County.
According to the arrest report, Rich admitted he refused to stop because he knew he had active warrants.
After being medically cleared at the scene by Sumter EMS and later at the Brownwood ER due to the Taser deployment, Rich was booked into the Sumter County Detention Center. He was held without bond.