Central Florida deputies pull suspect from swamp after he fled from traffic stop

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — Flagler County deputies rescued a Central Florida man trapped in a swamp after he fled from a traffic stop.

On Thursday, a deputy attempted to pull over a vehicle near the intersection of West State Road 100 near U.S. 1.

The driver, identified as Alunzo Devon Peoples, made a U-turn and sped away from deputies.

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According to a news release, the deputy followed from a safe distance and observed Peoples make another U-turn at Dean Road and then go east on SR 100 at a high rate of speed.

The vehicle eventually made its way onto County Road 304′s eastbound lanes, where another deputy successfully deployed stop sticks.

Deputies said Peoples abandoned the vehicle after it ran off the road and into a canal on the 1300 block of CR 304.

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After securing the vehicle, deputies set up a search perimeter and called for air assistance from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies located Peoples around 200 yards away from the wrecked vehicle hiding in a cypress pond after his heat signature was picked up by VCSO’s Air One helicopter.

“We do not give up getting our man,” Sheriff Staly added. “Fleeing from a deputy is never a smart move. You only go to jail tired and, in this case, muddy and wet! He also endangered our deputies and citizens with his reckless driving. I thank our fellow Sheriff’s Offices in Volusia and Seminole counties for providing the aerial support we needed to find him and stick him in the Green Roof Inn.”

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Peoples was booked in the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Center and is facing four charges, including felonies of fleeing and eluding and cocaine possession.

Peoples is now out on a $6,000 bond.

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