A man and his father were arrested after the younger of the duo ran a stop sign, according to Port St. Lucie police.
The son failed to stop at the intersection of SW Beard and SW California Boulevard in the Palm Trails neighborhood immediately south of St. Lucie West in the wee hours of May 24.
A K-9 officer noticed the traffic infraction and attempted to pull over the driver, later identified as Jesus Luis Diaz. However, Diaz didn’t stop immediately and, instead, bailed out of the vehicle and ran across SW Ember Street.
Officers were mobilized to the area and began not only a search for Diaz but also investigated the abandoned vehicle.
They found a loaded Kimber Micro Carry .380 pistol in the driver’s door and Diaz’s wallet, which had been dropped while fleeing.
The wallet held Diaz’s license and authorities went to his listed address. Authorities questioned Diaz’s 63-year-old father, Rafael Luis Diaz, who was ultimately arrested and charged with obstruction due to providing conflicting statements to investigators while they searched for his son.
The elder Diaz was later released from the county jail on a surety bond.
The younger Diaz was eventually located and arrested on charges that include carrying a concealed weapon, possession of weapon/ammo by convicted felon, flee/elude officer, resisting an officer without violence, refusal to accept/sign citation, and violation probation of marijuana possession. He is currently being held at the county jail in lieu of $23,625 bail.
