What started as a routine traffic stop in Hillsborough County ended with a soaked suspect in handcuffs, after deputies say a motorcyclist ditched his bike and ran straight into a retention pond early Friday morning. Authorities later identified the rider as 36-year-old Jeremy Leaf, who now faces multiple charges.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said its aviation unit was called in around 12:01 a.m. to back up patrol units after the motorcyclist sped away from a traffic stop on Gibsonton Drive. From the air, deputies tracked the rider to a nearby retention pond, where ground units moved in and arrested him, according to Tampa Bay 28.
How Deputies Tracked the Rider
Video and images shared from the incident show the motorcyclist abandoning the bike and heading into the water while air and ground units closed in. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office later posted about the response and its aviation crew's tracking efforts on social media, as reported by WTSP.
Charges and Next Steps
Leaf is facing multiple counts, including driving while license revoked (habitual offender) and resisting an officer without violence, according to the sheriff's office. Booking details and a court date had not yet been released as of the latest update from Tampa Bay 28.
Deputies have asked anyone with additional information to contact investigators and have shared photos from the scene on the agency's social media accounts, according to local reports. This story will be updated if officials release more details or charging documents, and readers can follow the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on its official channels for the latest information, as noted by WTSP.
