SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A man is in custody after authorities said he dragged a deputy around 100 yards while fleeing a traffic stop.
Officials said a deputy was performing a traffic stop on a Rocky Rudolph Jr., of Apopka, for dark-tinted windows.
Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said the deputy was having a casual conversation with Rudolph, explaining the law on window tint.
Officials said the deputy smelled marijuana in the car and asked Rudolph to turn the car off.
Rudolph told the deputy he didn’t have a medical marijuana card and refused to turn the car off, officials said.
Officials said Rudolph became aggressive in the conversation and became combative, then put the car in drive.
Lemma said Rudolph pulled the deputy 20 feet down the shoulder of the road while the deputy was attached to the vehicle.
The deputy pulled out his firearm and ordered Rudolph to turn the car off and put his hands up, deputies said.
Lemma said Rudolph then reached for the deputy’s gun hand and held him before driving 100 yards toward I-4. The deputy fell from the car and rolled into the median.
Authorities said Rudolph continued to drive before stopping and jumping a fence into a residential area, sparking a large response from multiple agencies in Seminole County.
An officer from Belle Isle spotted a person who matched Rudolph’s description running from the woodline and jumping into a vehicle.
Investigators cornered the vehicle, which was driven by the suspect’s daughter, and took Rudolph into custody, Lemma said.
Officials said he had a gunshot wound in the leg.
Rudolph has 15 felony convictions and eight misdemeanor convictions.
“This is a bad dude, who who almost killed one of our sheriff’s deputies on the side of the road,” Lemma said.
Officials said they found a gun in the car, as well as a gun that they said he threw into bushes.
Lemma said considering what the deputy had been through, he is in good condition.
Rudolph is facing multiple charges.
