PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – A 23-year-old man was arrested in Ponte Vedra Beach on Aug. 4, after fleeing Florida Highway Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who attempted to pull him over on State Road A1A, according to his arrest report.
Edy Roberto Garcia Santiago, of Toledo Road in Jacksonville, faces a felony charge of fleeing and eluding a law enforcement officer with lights and sirens active, as well as a misdemeanor charge of obstruction without violence. He was held without bond.
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The stop
According to the arrest report, a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper was sitting in his vehicle on the right shoulder of SR-A1A southbound near ATP Tour Boulevard when he was contacted by an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Agent, who was following a silver Ram 1500 with a Florida tag.
As the vehicles passed, the trooper said he observed the Ram 1500 had illegal window tint — verified at 5% — preventing him from seeing inside. Both the deputy and the agent then activated their emergency lights and sirens to initiate a traffic stop.
The chase
According to the report, despite both officers’ emergency equipment being activated, the driver continued southbound and refused to yield. The driver changed lanes, moving from the right travel lane into the left travel lane.
Ruiz initially positioned his patrol vehicle to perform a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) maneuver but gave the driver one final opportunity to stop before repositioning behind him. When the driver again failed to yield, the deputy performed the PIT maneuver at approximately 30 mph to prevent the situation from escalating into a high-speed chase, according to the report.
Immigration hold
Both occupants were removed from the vehicle and detained. An immigration status inquiry conducted by Agent Parker revealed Garcia Santiago had a final order of removal issued by an Immigration Judge. As a result, Ruiz released Garcia Santiago to ICE/ERO custody for removal processing rather than transporting him to St. Johns County Jail.
The passenger was also taken into ICE/ERO custody to be reissued a court date.