Sarasota News Leader

02/28/2014

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Siesta Seen of Ocean Boulevard and Avenida Milano, he continued. After confirming the motorcycle did not have a license plate — or lights or mirrors — Jackson was able to maneuver around traffic. He activated his flashing lights and gave a blast on the air horn, he noted in the report. Traffic moved, and the bike headed toward the Village. Jackson turned on his siren and continued to follow it. However, he wrote, because the bike had "a really loud exhaust," he was not sure the driver knew he was behind him. The driver turned east onto Canal Road at the four-way stop in the Village, Jackson wrote. At that point, the driver glanced over his shoulder and saw Jackson. The driver "took off down Canal … and made a quick left onto Avenida Del Norte," Jackson noted in the report. "He accelerated to about 45 mph in an apparent attempt to flee." After rounding the bend, the driver slowed down to about 2 mph, enabling the deputy to pull up alongside him. The driver then told Jackson he was unable to get the motorcycle to stop and acted as though he were having problems with it. When Jackson instructed him to stop, the driver repeated that he could not do so. Jackson then told the driver to remove the key from the ignition and turn off the bike. Jackson pulled up in front of the driver at an angle to block the road. "As I was exiting my patrol car I heard the motorcycle fall to the ground," Jackson wrote in the report. He looked back to see the driver running west on Avenida Del Norte. Jackson ran after him, reporting his location on his radio. Although other Sheriff's Office personnel arrived and set up a perimeter — and the office's helicopter and K9 unit arrived to help with the search — deputies were unable to locate the driver. They think he might have jumped into the canal on the north side of Avenida de Mayo, Jackson wrote. They did get some fingerprints off the helmet the driver threw to the ground before flee- ing, as well as from the motorcycle, and they impounded the bike. The driver was last seen wearing a long-sleeve black shirt and dark jeans. He has short hair, is about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to call the Criminal Investigations Section at 861-4900, leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 366-TIPS (8477) or go online at sarasotacrimestoppers. com. SPEAKING OF SIESTA CRIME … Regular readers will recall that the Sheriff's Office also has been looking for a suspect in a number of burglaries reported at condomini- ums on the island, especially along Midnight Pass Road. This week, the office released a new and bet- ter surveillance photo of the suspect. Sarasota News Leader February 28, 2014 Page 109

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