CLERMONT, Fla.—A man who told a Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputy he made a bad choice and regretted his decision is facing two felony charges, according to an arrest affidavit.
An LCSO deputy spotted a Hyundai SUV make an illegal U-turn on U.S. Highway 27 at High Grove Boulevard shortly after midnight Wednesday and initiated a traffic stop. The driver pulled into a nearby parking lot, and the deputy approached the SUV and asked for his license. As the driver searched for it, he reportedly said, “I’m not going to lie, bro, I’ve got to go,” and put the SUV in drive and accelerated, according to the affidavit.
Due to the way the deputy had positioned his patrol vehicle, the driver, later identified as Wanyae Diquan Benjamin-Richardson, 31, of Lady Lake, was unable to flee. He reversed the SUV and accelerated again before ultimately complying with the deputy’s commands to stop. Benjamin-Richardson was placed in handcuffs, and a subsequent search of the vehicle revealed a small blue baggie containing a substance that field-tested positive for cocaine, according to the affidavit.
Benjamin-Richardson was arrested for possession of cocaine and fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer. He told the deputy he was not trying to flee from him and just wanted to leave the parking lot, the affidavit states, and said he made a bad choice and regretted his decision.
He was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was released on $7,500 bond.
