MELBOURNE, Fla. – A man in a U-Haul pickup truck topped speeds of 100 mph while fleeing from a traffic stop, according to the Melbourne Police Department.
Police said on July 3, a U-Haul pickup truck fled from a traffic stop so an officer went looking for it that afternoon near Digital Light Drive but instead found another U-Haul pickup truck that was not involved in the earlier incident.
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Records show that while the officer was running the plates on that Chevrolet Silverado, two men saw him and immediately took off running to a nearby wooded area. The officer yelled that he wasn’t chasing them even as they went to hide under some bushes, the report said.
The officer saw that U-Haul again on Digital Light Drive the next afternoon and attempted to speak with a man inside but he refused to answer any questions, so the officer left, according to the affidavit.
About an hour later, the officer was patrolling on North Drive when he saw the U-Haul fail to stop at a stop sign and saw the same man he’d tried to speak to earlier, later identified as James Devar Gordon, was behind the wheel, the report said.
Police said Gordon threw up his hands as if exasperated when he saw the officer behind him and sped up when the officer activated his lights.
Gordon failed to stop at a red light and turned so sharply that a piece of wood fell from the truck, records show. He’s also accused of topping speeds of 100 mph.
Gordon was not arrested that day but a warrant was issued and he was taken into custody Thursday on charges of fleeing and eluding, reckless driving and driving with a suspended license.