Gainesville man charged with escape after running while handcuffed
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Darius Dequion Phillips, 31, was arrested early this morning on a warrant and also charged with escape, giving a false name, and possession of a controlled substance after running in handcuffs through an apartment complex.
A Gainesville Police Department officer made contact with Phillips at 4:50 a.m. this morning after a 911 call was received about people stealing from a construction site. Phillips matched the description given and was reportedly seen walking away from the construction site.
Phillips reportedly told the officer his name was Lenard Jones, but nothing came back for that name. The officer reminded Phillips that he is required to provide his full legal name, and Phillips then allegedly said his name was Leaoned L Jones; the officer read it back and confirmed the spelling with Phillips. Further investigation produced his real name and a warrant for his arrest.
In a search incident to arrest, the officer reportedly found about a gram of white powder and white rocks that both tested positive for MDPV.
Post Miranda, Phillips reportedly said that he uses “molly” daily and that the drugs were his.
While the officer was searching Phillips after he was in handcuffs, Phillips allegedly ran into a nearby apartment complex in the 3800 block of SW 34th Street. After a foot chase, he was apprehended and taken into custody.
Phillips has five felony convictions, with the most recent in 2018; he has served four state prison sentences, with his most recent release in December 2021. Bail information is unavailable on weekends, but his warrant recommended bail of $2,000.
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.Â
Another useless person instead of getting a hair cut a job he rather steal
Note to GPD. Use leg irons on the fast ones or let the K9s do what they’re trained to do and chase them down.
Next time don’t chase them. Let them wrestle with removing the handcuffs.
Ah, the tumultuous reign of young King Darius… 🤴