TAVARES, Florida—A man who is no stranger to the law has been arrested again—his 15th felony arrest in Lake County since 2016, according to Lake County Clerk of Court online records.
Austin Dean Chaudoin, 26, of Astatula is accused of fleeing Tavares Police officers Saturday and having drugs on him when a detective caught up with him Sunday, an arrest affidavit states.
A TPD detective was getting gas Saturday around 1 a.m. when he spotted Chaudoin pull up to a nearby gas pump. The detective recognized Chaudoin from past involvements and found the tag was expired on the white Dodge Durango Chaudoin was driving. A marked unit attempted to pull Chaudoin over on U.S. Highway 441 and Palm Gardens Street and he failed to yield and took off speeding, according to the affidavit.
Officers deactivated their emergency lights and sirens and terminated the traffic stop, driving the opposite way of Chaudoin.
The TPD detective went back to the gas station and Chaudoin was identified by the clerk and on video surveillance later that day. Around 3 a.m. Sunday, the detective was attempting to locate Chaudoin, and found him and the Durango at Rosewood Condominiums. Chaudoin was taken into custody and searched. TPD found a glass pipe, syringe and bag of white powder in his left front pocket and a small bag containing methamphetamine in his right pocket.
The detective asked Chaudoin if the white powder was “fetty,” a street term for fentanyl and he nodded his head, the affidavit states.
Chaudoin was arrested for fleeing and eluding, possession of methamphetamine, possession of fentanyl and possession of paraphernalia. He was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was released on $17,000 bond.
Correction: Due to a typo, the original headline was incorrect and did not match information contained in the story. The current headline reflects the correction.
