A Florida man lost his shorts in a river after he allegedly tried to evade officers with the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office.
Jesse Dean Lamb, 50, was arrested and charged with resisting arrest without violence on Saturday, according to a release published on the department's Facebook page. This comes as new data shows the crime rate decreasing in Florida.
"After 2 years hovering just above the national violent crime rate, this year Florida came in under the national rate with 3.8 incidents per 1,000, compared to 4.0 across the US, according to Safewise.
Resisting Arrest
According to the Florida State Legislature, resisting an officer without violence is considered a misdemeanor.
FindLaw, a legal information website, reported that resisting arrest usually involves:
- Intent to prevent an officer from conducting an arrest,
- Not stopping when told to do so by an officer, or
- Creating the risk of injury to an officer.
In most states, FindLaw said, resisting arrest is considered a misdemeanor. There are some instances that lead to additional felony charges, like assaulting a police officer.
Refused to Leave
What started as a call involving a man who refused to leave a house took a turn when officers learned that Lamb allegedly had an active warrant from Suwannee County after he did not appear in court for driving with a suspended license in 2021.
"When Deputy [Pete] Merola arrived at the house, he saw Jesse running from the rear of the house towards the Suwannee River, only wearing a pair of shorts," the release stated.
'Hide and Seek'
Merola chased after Lamb who jumped into the river and hid under a floating dock.
Deputy Larson Zimmermann joined to help Merola, and the two ordered Lamb to come out from underneath the dock. He swam out for a moment, only to immediately swim away.
"As Jesse was swimming away, he lost his shorts and was now skinny dipping in the river until he came to a large u-shaped dock and hid underneath it," the Facebook post stated. "Well, for the next couple of hours, we played hide and seek with Jesse; he popped up once but quickly disappeared back under the dock before the Deputies could grab him."
With the help of an underwater camera provided by a local resident, officers confirmed Lamb remained under the dock.
The Arrest
"Eventually, Jesse decided to make a break for it and began swimming across the river to the other side, but Deputy Zimmermann, with the assistance of the dock owner, chased after Jesse in the dock owner's boat, and they captured Jesse on the other riverbank," the post concluded.
Sheriff Sam St. John told Newsweek that Lamb was exhausted by the time officers caught him and did not put up a fight as they arrested him.
In addition to the post, the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office included photos, one of which showed him covered by a towel and wearing a life jacket on a boat after officers caught him.
St. John said there were no injuries during the two-and-a-half-hour standoff.
In addition to this arrest, another was made after a man allegedly tried to bring nearly 740 grams of methamphetamine into the United States in 2020. Police found him "suspiciously" eating a McDonald's cheeseburger when he arrived at a checkpoint.
Three women were recently arrested after they reportedly threw objects at employees and jumped over the counter when they were charged for sauce.
One man claimed he was acting in self-defense after killing his neighbor's pet rooster.
Update: 07/13/22 2:25 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Sheriff Sam St. John.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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