I swear you FL Peeps Scare me

[Sixxxxer]

After leading officers on a two-county chase at speeds up to 135 mph, a driver late Thursday stopped when his car ran out of gas in Levy County and allegedly told officers he knew he was going to jail and decided to have fun before he was arrested.
Philip Pennypacker
Philip Pennypacker
Click to enlarge

Deputies who interviewed Philip Pennypacker, 22, said he was smiling and giggling about the Thursday night pursuit, the Alachua County Sheriff's Office reported.

"Once I knew I was going to jail, I decided to have some fun," the Sheriff's Office reported Pennypacker said.

When Pennypacker realized officers had spotted the Ford Mustang with front-end damage that he was driving, he said he decided not to stop because he felt "tipsy" and "scared," according to reports from the Alachua and Levy County sheriff's offices. But, he said, he wasn't trying to hurt anyone. He also said he had watched a lot of cop shows and maybe that's why he ran, according to reports.

Pennypacker, who has an Otter Creek address, was arrested in Levy County on charges of high-speed fleeing and eluding and three counts of aggravated assault on law enforcement officers with a deadly weapon, according to the Levy County Sheriff's Office. He later bonded out of jail. He could not immediately be reached for comment Friday, and it was not clear which attorney was representing him.

The Florida Highway Patrol also is investigating reports that Pennypacker crashed into or sideswiped three vehicles, including a semi-trailer truck and an Alachua County Fire Rescue vehicle.

The chase, which started on Archer Road at about 7 p.m. Thursday, ended in Inglis in southern Levy County about 32 minutes and 60 miles later, according to deputies.

Before the pursuit began, officers received reports about the car hitting other vehicles.

Pennypacker had been driving south on Interstate 75 and sideswiped a truck before getting off the interstate, losing control of his vehicle and hitting two other vehicles, including the county vehicle, FHP Lt. Patrick Riordan said.

"He was just like a pinball. He was bouncing off cars," Alachua County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Steve Maynard said.

Sheriff's Office policy generally prohibits pursuits in cases involving only traffic offenses or non-violent crimes, as opposed to crimes such as a robbery or murder.

At first, officers thought the Mustang might be connected to a series of armed robberies that recently have occurred along the Interstate 75 corridor stretching from Columbia to Marion counties. But Maynard said officers quickly realized the car was not one of the vehicles that could be linked to the holdups.

However, the watch commander on duty, Lt. Darrell Bessinger, chose to have Sgt. Matt Strange and Deputy David Brown continue the pursuit. He advised them to remain at a safe distance because of the speeds involved.

In addition to cases involving a violent crime, Sheriff's Office policy allows a pursuit when, before a chase begins, someone is driving in a manner that is endangering lives and the need to pursue outweighs the risk of the pursuit, Maynard said.

The Mustang continued west on Archer Road into Levy County, where officers had been alerted. At one point, the car pulled onto the road's shoulder where an officer was trying to put out stop sticks to halt the speeding car, authorities said.

Chiefland Police Chief Robert Douglas said he learned Pennypacker "blew" through a red light in Bronson and almost struck the Rev. Billy Keith and his wife, Vonnie, as they were heading home to Gulf Hammock. Keith is the preacher at the Otter Creek Baptist Church.

Traveling at more than 120 mph, the Mustang turned onto U.S. 19 at Otter Creek and headed toward Inglis, officers said.

The car would pull up behind other traffic on the road and swerve "at the last moment" to keep from hitting them, Levy County deputies said. They were nearest Pennypacker's car at that point.

At the Horse Hold Mud Bog, a Levy County deputy was putting out more stop sticks. Officers reported Pennypacker aimed his vehicle at the deputy but then continued on at about 115 mph.

The Mustang hit the Inglis city limits at about 110 mph, officers reported, and turned onto an access road, then State Road 40 and then State Road 40A. Deputies reported the driver again appeared to aim at an officer's marked car before the vehicle traveled back onto U.S. 19 and went north.

The car stopped about six miles north of Inglis when it ran out of gas.

Pennypacker then was arrested without incident.

Officers reported Pennypacker said he knew he had swerved at deputies but that he was trying to get away and avoid the stop sticks.

The sheriff's offices in both counties, the Inglis Police Department, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife, as well as Chiefland Police Chief Robert Douglas, were involved either in the chase or arrest or in the investigation, according to the Alachua County Sheriff's Office.