A former National Football League player will seek a mental health evaluation in order to escape prosecution after fleeing last year from Fruitland Park police.
Lerentee Zavonne McCray, 32, who played on the 2015 Super Bowl winning Denver Broncos team, entered into a pre-trial intervention contract last week in Lake County Court in a bid to avoid prosecution on a charge of fleeing to elude law enforcement. In addition to seeking a mental health evaluation, he must perform 20 hours of community service. He can “buy out” of half of the community service sentence at a rate of $10 per hour, the court file noted.
The Dunnellon High School graduate was at the wheel of a white Dodge Ram pickup on Jan. 16, 2022 when the chase began due to an apparent speeding violation, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department. The pursuit reached speeds of up to 100 miles per hour and ended in Tavares.
McCray, who at the time was listed as a lineman on the Jacksonville Jaguar’s roster, was alone in the pickup, and displayed “an expletive hand gesture using the middle finger” toward the officer who initiated the traffic stop. McCray appeared to be in an “altered mental status” and was transported by Lake EMS to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares for a medical evaluation. During an interview at the emergency room, McCray asked the officer who had chased him, “Oh, that was you? My bad.”
McCray, who how lists an Ocala address, played for the University of Florida from 2008 to 2012. In 2013, he signed as an undrafted rookie with Denver. He later played for the Green Bay Packers and was traded to the Buffalo Bills. He was signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2017 by Jacksonville.
The overthecap website estimates that McCray earned a total of $10 million during his NFL career.
