Markest Thomas spent eight days behind bars in Central Florida on a third-degree felony charge before prosecutors dropped the case, and now he says the whole ordeal traces back to one officer's mistaken identification. Thomas claims Orlando police misidentified him as a driver who fled a traffic stop in the city's South Semoran neighborhood, a case that unraveled only after a prosecutor reviewed body-camera footage and noticed his tattoos did not match the man on video.
The traffic stop that started it all happened on December 29, 2025, when Officer Andrew McKuhen pulled over a vehicle in South Semoran, according to WKMG ClickOrlando. The driver gave the name Mark Thomas and a birthdate in April 1995, and drove off while McKuhen was speaking on his police radio, the station reports. McKuhen had been with the Orlando Police Department for less than two months at the time.
OPD's communications center searched for a name close to Mark Thomas based on that birthdate and turned up Markest Thomas, who was actually born in February 1995, not April, per the station's report. McKuhen then obtained Thomas's driver's license photo and, in a sworn affidavit, identified Markest Tyrell Thomas as the driver who had fled. The affidavit also noted that the social security number the driver provided was linked to someone named Nancy, according to the same account.
A Warrant, an Arrest, and Seven Nights Without Bond
Orange County Circuit Court Judge Greg A. Tynan issued an arrest warrant for Thomas, and Lake County Sheriff's Office deputies executed it on January 20, 2026, in Mascotte, Florida, where Thomas lives. He was held seven nights without bond in the Lake County jail before being transferred to the Orange County jail, the article notes. An Orange County judge released Thomas from custody on January 28, 2026, but required him to await trial under restrictions that barred him from possessing alcohol or firearms.
Thomas told the station he had never before been in trouble with police or had a criminal record. He said he was falsely arrested for a crime he did not commit and has requested accountability for his arrest, as well as an apology now that the charges have been dropped.
Fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer in Florida carries no misdemeanor equivalent — it is a mandatory felony, with the base third-degree offense punishable by up to five years in prison, per Demmery Law. The stakes for Thomas were even steeper than they might once have been: effective October 1, 2025, Florida House Bill 113 amended the fleeing statute to bar judges from withholding or deferring adjudication in these cases, meaning any guilty plea or verdict would have left Thomas with an automatic, permanent felony record, according to Michael P. Maddux, P.A.
Tattoos Didn't Match, Prosecutor Found
The State Attorney's Office formally charged Thomas with fleeing from law enforcement on July 16, 2026. But on August 3, 2026, Assistant State Attorney Zachary Cole reviewed McKuhen's body-worn camera video and deposed the officer, ultimately concluding that differences between Thomas and the fleeing driver created reasonable doubt. Prosecutors said the fleeing driver had no visible tattoos on his right arm, while Thomas has had tattoos on his right hand and forearm since 2018 and 2023. The state attorney's office dropped the felony charge that same day, and case notes stated the driver had never actually given the name Markest Tyrell Thomas. Prosecutors also declined to pursue several drug-related charges McKuhen had recommended; the officer had said he wanted to search the car after smelling marijuana smoke, seeing ash on the console, and spotting what he described as a green substance on the driver's shorts.
The Orlando Police Department has said the officer's investigation developed sufficient probable cause for a judge to sign the arrest warrant, and the department noted McKuhen did not personally chase the fleeing motorist. OPD did not respond to the station's questions about whether it still believes Thomas was the fleeing driver, and did not indicate one way or the other.
Same Officer, Later Tied to Fatal Crash and Equipment Complaints
McKuhen has since drawn scrutiny well beyond the Thomas case. Weeks after the December traffic stop, on January 18, 2026, he was involved in a crash that killed 92-year-old Milagros “Millie” Ortiz. In June 2026, the Office of the State Attorney for Florida's Ninth Judicial Circuit declined to file criminal charges against McKuhen over the fatal crash, concluding there was insufficient evidence he had been driving recklessly, according to WFTV. Investigators found no evidence McKuhen had intentionally turned off his emergency signals, though his patrol SUV had a documented multi-year history of light and siren malfunctions.
City traffic camera footage from the fatal crash reportedly showed the SUV's emergency lights displaying static rather than flashing illumination before shutting off entirely as McKuhen accelerated into the intersection, as reported by Fight Back! News. Eyewitnesses near Semoran Boulevard and Hoffner Avenue also said they did not hear a police siren before the impact. In July 2026, Ortiz's family, represented by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, filed a $92 million wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Orlando, an emergency light bar manufacturer, and a fleet maintenance company.
A Pattern of Misidentification Questions at OPD
Thomas's case is not the only recent instance in which Orlando police misidentification has led to a dropped prosecution. Hoodline reported in March 2026 on a separate wrongful arrest tied to facial recognition, in which software matched a suspect image to a decade-old booking photo and led to charges that prosecutors later dropped entirely; the man arrested in that case subsequently filed citizen complaints against the officers involved.
Fleeing traffic stops is not rare in Orlando. Department data reported by Central Florida Public Media showed that roughly 3% of drivers — about 4,600 incidents — attempted to flee traffic stops initiated by Orlando officers between January 2022 and early 2025, though the department found only five pursuit incidents during that span violated its official Vehicle Pursuits and Apprehension policy. Civil rights attorneys have questioned whether that low violation count reflects adequate officer training.
The prosecutor's office that ultimately dropped Thomas's charge, the Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office under Monique Worrell, serves roughly 1.9 million residents across Orange and Osceola counties and fields about 60,000 cases a year from area law enforcement, according to Ballotpedia. The office reported an overall 80% circuit court conviction rate in the second quarter of 2026. Whether OPD will change its warrant verification process, or take any disciplinary action tied to Thomas's arrest, remains an open question the department has not answered.
