The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Venice man Saturday night after they say he caused a series of crashes along South Tamiami Trail in Venice. Deputies responding to a call for shoplifting at the Walmart on Tamiami Trail, first noticed the suspect around 6:30 p.m., when he crashed into two cars and then fled southbound toward the Jacaranda Crossings Plaza. According to a witness who followed the suspect to the McDonald’s parking lot, the driver again crashed into another vehicle and after realizing his vehicle was blocked in, fled the area on foot. The driver, later identified as 28-year-old Charles Garrett ran back to the Walmart parking lot where he was apprehended by responding deputies. Garrett tried several times to get away from deputies and had trouble recalling details of the crashes. When DUI Unit deputies conducted a field sobriety test, they say Garrett blew a .232 blood alcohol content, nearly three times the legal limit.
