Video: Deputies arrest man who allegedly fled on a motorcycle the previous day
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Leo Edwin Haney, Jr., 33, was arrested yesterday and charged with grand theft of a motorcycle, fleeing at high speed, driving without a valid license (third or subsequent offense), and two misdemeanor charges after deputies put out an alert for the motorcycle on Tuesday, then saw it again yesterday and found the motorcycle parked outside a mobile home in Hidden Oak.
At about 3:50 p.m. on Tuesday, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy pursued a black KTM motorcycle with distinctive orange wheels southbound on Tower Road (see video from ASO here). The motorcycle was operated by a man with a blue bandanna and dark clothing. A deputy tried to conduct a traffic stop because no tag was visible, but the motorcycle fled into heavy traffic and disappeared.
On Wednesday, the same deputy saw the motorcycle on Tower Road, driven by the same person. The deputy reported that the rider stared right at him before turning off Tower Road onto W. University Avenue.
The deputy later saw the motorcycle entering Hidden Oak Mobile Home Park and located the parked motorcycle in the 800 block of Victoria Court. While the deputy was inspecting the tag, which was positioned in such a way that it could not be seen from directly behind the motorcycle, Haney reportedly came out of the residence, wearing the same clothing as the motorcycle rider.
When the deputy asked Haney to come over to him, Haney reportedly said “No, sir” and went back inside. The other occupants of the residence were reportedly uncooperative at first but later said Haney was inside. The deputy learned that Haney is on federal probation and has five previous convictions in other states for driving without a valid license.
The deputy reported that he made contact with Haney, who was sitting on a couch inside the residence and allegedly refused to come out. Deputies reportedly gave commands to Haney for about eight minutes while speaking to him through an open door (see video from ASO here). The lease-holder for the residence eventually gave consent for deputies to go inside and remove Haney from the residence, and after another warning, deputies reportedly tased him and took him into custody. Haney then spent the night in the hospital before being booked into the jail.
The tag on the motorcycle reportedly belonged to a different motorcycle, and the ignition had reportedly been punched. The deputy confirmed that the motorcycle had been reported stolen in Gainesville on March 21.
Post Miranda, Haney reportedly admitted that he had ridden the motorcycle on previous days.
Haney has been charged with grand theft of a motorcycle, fleeing at high speed, driving without a valid license (third or subsequent offense), resisting arrest without violence, and attaching a license plate to a different vehicle than the assigned vehicle. Haney has eight felony convictions (none violent) and five misdemeanor convictions (none violent). He has served two state prison sentences, with his most recent release in 2017; he is on federal probation for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $77,000, with a requirement for a GPS monitor upon release.
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
These people should just get their foreheads stamped, “I’m another stupid felon.”
Or at least a bullseye.
A dam shame a car didn’t turn in from of him would save a lot of money in the future
He’s giving all the other guys with face tattoos a bad name! 😄😄😄
I bet he thinks he looks tough with that tat on his face. Lmfao 😂