A Venice man was arrested yesterday in Port Charlotte after allegedly trying to get away from Sarasota County deputies in the North Port area.
Jason Robert Gibson, 34, of 1956 San Silvestro Drive in Venice, was charged in Charlotte County Tuesday afternoon with two counts of Leaving the Scene of a Crash, Failure to Stop as Ordered by a Law Enforcement Officer and Resisting an Officer without Violence.
The events began shortly before noon in the North Port area when Sarasota County Warrants deputies were attempting to serve a warrant on Gibson for Violation of Probation concerning a previous Dealing in Stolen Property charge. Gibson allegedly fled from the Sarasota deputies down Hillsborough Blvd. into Charlotte County.
Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office notified the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office of the pursuit and requested assistance. Deputies were told to be on the lookout for a gold 2006 Toyota Tundra pickup truck.
During the pursuit, Gibson struck a Centurylink telephone box at the corner of Atwater Street and Hillsborough Blvd and left the scene without stopping. When he was approaching the corner of Tappan Zee Drive and Veronica Street, Gibson again lost control of his truck, went through the ditch and into wood. The airbag on the Tundra deployed when the truck hit a tree and finally came to a stop.
Gibson got out of the truck and fled from that crash scene on foot. Deputies from both Charlotte County and Sarasota County began setting up a perimeter to contain Gibson while Charlotte County K9 deputies were being called. Before the dogs could arrive, a neighbor in the area pointed out to the area of Peppertree Estates off Quesada Avenue where he had seen Gibson jump the gate.
Charlotte County deputies located Gibson in a pond in development and took him into custody. He was initially taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released. Then he was transported to the Charlotte County Jail where he was being held on a $4,500 bond.