Gainesville man arrested for allegedly fleeing from deputies and ramming patrol vehicle

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Fredrick Tyrone Perryman Jr., 24, was arrested yesterday after allegedly fleeing from deputies who were attempting to arrest him on warrants out of two counties; he allegedly rammed a patrol vehicle when deputies boxed in his vehicle.

At about 2:15 p.m. on June 5, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies learned that a vehicle used by Perryman was in the 3500 block of SW 34th Street and that Perryman was wanted in Volusia and Polk counties.

Deputies followed the vehicle, which pulled into an apartment complex in the 700 block of SW 34th Street; a deputy was already positioned in that parking lot, and after Perryman drove about 180 feet into the parking lot, the deputy pulled his marked patrol vehicle in front of Perryman’s vehicle and turned on his lights and sirens, indicating that Perryman should stop.

Perryman allegedly looked directly at the deputy’s vehicle and then accelerated in reverse through the parking lot before driving back onto SW 34th Street, where another deputy positioned his unmarked vehicle behind Perryman’s vehicle to keep him from fleeing further.

Perryman allegedly briefly stopped, looked in the direction of the unmarked vehicle, then intentionally rammed the deputy’s vehicle with his Mercedes SUV. The deputy reported that he was in fear for his life because of the size and acceleration of the Mercedes, along with the apparent intentionality of Perryman’s actions.

Perryman allegedly accelerated forward after hitting the unmarked vehicle, but he was boxed in by a patrol vehicle in front of his SUV and was unable to flee.

Additional deputies arrived and parked their vehicles around the SUV; Perryman reportedly got out of the SUV, was identified by his Florida ID card, and was arrested.

An inventory search of the SUV reportedly produced about 67 grams of marijuana, multiple sandwich-style bags, and an electronic scale.

In addition to being booked on the two active warrants, Perryman has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, fleeing with lights and sirens active, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, driving without a valid license (second or subsequent offense), and possession of drug paraphernalia. His full criminal history is unavailable, but at the time of his last local arrest, he had juvenile convictions for armed home invasion robbery, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and fleeing from an incident; a few months after that arrest, he was convicted of fleeing without regard for the safety of others and felony property damage in Marion County and sentenced to three years in prison. He was released in December 2024.

The Volusia County warrant is for fleeing with disregard for the safety of others, resisting an officer without violence, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, tampering with evidence, driving without a valid license, possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The Polk County warrant is for possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana and possession of drug equipment.

Judge Julie Johnson set bail at $195,000 on the new charges.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.