HOLMES BEACH – Police Officer Andrew Adkins was in his patrol car at the intersection of Manatee Avenue and Gulf Drive on Nov. 7 at 10:41 p.m. when he saw a black Chevy Silverado leave the Manatee Beach parking lot and go straight through a traffic light while in the left turn lane.
Adkins noticed the truck had a tinted license plate cover and initiated a traffic stop in the 700 block of Manatee Avenue. He identified the driver as Christopher Leopard, 46, of Indiana.
“Leopard was acting nervous during the stop and told me he did not have his license. I gathered his name and date of birth and went back to my vehicle,” Adkins said in his official report. “While doing so, he waved out of the driver’s window so I approached the vehicle again. He told me he found his Indiana driver license so I took it from him and returned to my vehicle.”
When Adkins ran Leopard’s license, he found an active warrant from Indiana. Meanwhile, additional units had arrived on the scene to assist. Adkins asked Leopard to exit the vehicle, but he refused, saying his identity had been stolen, which immediately aroused suspicion from the officers. Adkins tried to open the door, but Leopard had locked it and rolled up the window, causing officers to lay spike strips in front of the vehicle, anticipating that he may attempt to flee the scene, which he did.
“I told Christopher to give me the keys and that he is not free to leave but he began fleeing at a high rate of speed eastbound on Manatee Avenue. I got in my patrol vehicle and initiated a pursuit with lights and siren active,” Adkins said in his report. “Leopard was fleeing at speeds of about 120 mph.”
The pursuit continued down the Palma Sola Causeway, and a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputy was able to deploy stop sticks on the truck, according to the report. Although the front driver’s side tire was flat, Leopard continued to flee at a high speed and often into oncoming traffic before hitting the median and crossing back into the correct lane of traffic. Now driving on a bare rim, Leopard continued to drive erratically, running stop lights and refusing to stop. Another spike strip was deployed which caused the truck to slow down, where Leopard then jumped out of the moving vehicle running north on Eighth Street North. The vehicle then veered off the roadway, onto a sidewalk, went slightly up a utility pole wire, and then came to a stop after an impact with a chain link fence.
“I noticed he turned west onto Fourth Avenue West and was proned out on the ground next to Officer Hurt’s patrol vehicle. I took Leopard into custody and secured him in Officer Hurt’s vehicle,” Adkins said. “I placed him under arrest for obstructing an officer’s investigation without violence, fleeing to elude an officer with a disregard for other persons and property and resisting arrest without violence. I also issued him 11 traffic citations for the traffic infractions that occurred during the incident.”
Leopard was arrested and taken to Manatee County Jail and was issued a bond of $8,500. He is scheduled to appear in front of Judge Frederick Mercurio on Wednesday, Jan. 3 in Manatee County’s 12th Judicial Circuit Court.
