A deputy with the Polk County Sheriff's Office is facing charges after the department said he was caught driving at excessive speeds and refused to stop when deputies tried to pull him over.
According to a press release, Jakob Kite, 22, resigned from his position as a deputy after his arrest. In a statement, Sheriff Grady Judd said if he hadn't, he would have been fired.
“This kind of driving and reckless behavior is unacceptable for any responsible citizen, let alone a deputy sheriff. It is hard to describe how disappointed and angry I am towards Kite’s dangerously stupid behavior. Had he not resigned, he would have been fired. We will absolutely hold him accountable for his criminal conduct. I appreciate and applaud our traffic deputies for doing the right thing and taking Kite into custody," Judd said in a statement.
Kite is accused of being intoxicated when he was clocked driving a Subaru Impreza up to 130 miles an hour early Sunday morning. A press release said he was ultimately stopped by a PIT maneuver.
According to the sheriff's office, traffic deputies clocked Kite driving 105 mph while going south on Highway 98, near Smith Lane, toward Bartow just after 12 a.m. Another deputy clocked the vehicle as going between 114 and 117 miles an hour
Authorities said it was a 60 mph zone.
Deputies followed Kite, and while trying to catch up to him, they clocked him driving 130 mph in a 45 mph zone on EF Griffin Road, the press release said.
On that road, as Kite neared Highway 540A, deputies turned on their sirens and lights to pull him over. The sheriff's office said Kite refused to stop and drove through a stop sign where EF Griffin Road and 540A intersect.
Authorities said as Kite tried to drive westbound on 540A, his vehicle hit a concrete median, which damaged the front tires, but the vehicle was still able to get into the westbound lanes. At that time, authorities said Kite swerved toward one of the patrol vehicles in an "aggressive manner" and nearly crashed into it.
Kite kept driving westbound on 540A as deputies followed, authorities said, and after several attempts, one of the deputies used a PIT maneuver to disable Kite's vehicle.
Kite initially refused to leave his car but was taken into custody, the sheriff's office said. He was taken to the sheriff's processing center, where he gave two breath samples that showed his blood alcohol level to be .035 G/210L and .034 G/210L.
The sheriff's office said a Drug Recognition Expert evaluated Kite, and a urine sample was also taken.
Kite was charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting without violence, resisting with violence, fleeing to elude, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, reckless driving and DUI
He was also issued multiple driving citations, including four speeding tickets (130 mph in a 45 mph zone / 105 mph in a 60 mph zone / 90 mph in a 45 mph zone / 60 mph in a 45 mph zone) and running a stop sign (2).
