Police denied him entry into the Florida Keys. They say he drove through the checkpoint
A Miami man spent Saturday night in Monroe County jail after deputies say he ran a checkpoint aimed at keeping tourists out of the Florida Keys during the coronavirus crisis.
According to a sheriff’s office report, Joao Ramon Perez, 56, who lives in the Belle Meade neighborhood in Miami, drove his Dodge pickup truck, which was towing a personal watercraft on a trailer, up to the checkpoint on the 18 Mile Stretch of U.S. 1 around 5:20 p.m. Saturday.
He gave one of the deputies staffing the checkpoint his Miami-Dade County driver’s license and a tax bill for a property in the Keys that is owned by a limited liability company, according to Deputy Shaun Lones’ report.
Lones told Perez the documentation was insufficient to allow him into Monroe County. During the state of emergency, only Keys residents and people who can show they legitimately work in the county are allowed through the checkpoint.
Lones ordered Perez to turn his truck around and head back north, but he refused, according to the report.
“He stated that he wasn’t going to turn around and said I’ll need to arrest him,” Lones stated.
Perez started driving toward another deputy, who ordered him to stop. But, Perez “rapidly accelerated” his truck and drove through the blockade, Lones said.
Lones then went after Perez in his patrol car with his overhead lights and sirens on, according to the report. Perez stopped shortly down the highway, and Lones arrested him, according to the report.
He faces a felony charge of fleeing and eluding from the police and two counts of misdemeanor obstruction and one count of violation of a disaster preparedness order. Perez, who could not be reached for comment, was released from jail Sunday morning with an order to appear in court.
