Fugitive on the run for four years caught in Flagler County

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Flagler County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a man who has been on the run for four years after running from authorities. 

Deputies attempted to pull over a Chevy sedan after it was seen speeding on South U.S. 1 Wednesday.

The driver, Michael Anthony Ross, 24, slowed down initially but then accelerated and attempted to evade deputies. 

Deputies terminated the traffic stop and followed Ross from a safe distance to keep the public safe.

The pursuit ended at North State Street in Bunnell after Ross ran a red light, lost control of his car and crashed.

"It looked like a Nascar wreck," Sheriff Rick Staly said. "The car was just absolutely destroyed. The engine was in the parking lot, the transmission was in the middle of the road, the hood was on the other side of the road."

After his car was rendered useless, Ross left the vehicle and ran as deputies closed in.

Deputies eventually caught up with Ross and were able to use a Taser gun to stop him.

During the investigation, Ross refused to disclose his identity. FCSO used Rapid Identification technology that revealed not only his identity but that he was a fugitive from Wisconsin wanted for violation of probation and armed burglary.

"People lie to law enforcement quite often," Staly said. "This puts us on an even playing field because if they've been arrested previously, and their fingerprints are in the national database, we're going to know who they are instantly."

Ross had been on the run for the past four years, officials said.

Ross was taken to a hospital, where he was cleared, and then booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility. 

"There's no telling how many crimes that he's committed in four years, across the country," Staly said.

Ross is charged with fleeing and eluding, resisting an officer without violence, leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and driving without a license.

He is being held without bond.