A 28-year-old Ohio man wanted on out-of-state warrants for robbery and battery by strangulation is now in Monroe County custody after leading deputies on a chase through Islamorada that ended with him jumping into Gulfside waters near U.S. 1. Brandon Lee May was tased in the water Friday after a pursuit that started near Mile Marker 83, wound through a Publix parking lot, and included at least two break-ins before deputies finally took him down.
According to Tampa Free Press, deputies tried to pull over a Dodge SUV around 12:30 p.m. Friday after clocking it going 63 mph in a 45 mph zone along Overseas Highway, a commercial stretch of the Upper Keys where access points knock the speed limit down for a reason: pedestrian traffic is heavy. May refused to stop, according to the outlet's reporting, and instead drove recklessly through the Publix parking lot, endangering shoppers on foot before abandoning the SUV.
From there, May allegedly jumped a fence onto Avocado Street and fled on foot, breaking into another residence and attempting to break into a nearby plumbing business along the way. He is also accused of stealing a fire extinguisher from a home during the chase. Islamorada's police services are handled under contract by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, which runs Islamorada District 6 out of its headquarters on Overseas Highway rather than the village maintaining its own police force.
Tased in the Water Near Mile Marker 83
May's foot chase ended when he jumped into the Gulfside water, where deputies deployed a Taser to subdue him, per the same account. Suspects diving into ocean or mangrove waters during highway pursuits is not a new problem for Monroe County law enforcement — in January, a separate fleeing suspect jumped into ocean waters near Mile Marker 70 in Islamorada before being taken into custody, according to Keys Weekly.
Deputies say May resisted arrest by pulling away and kicking at them once he was pulled from the water. He was treated for a broken wrist and transported to Baptist Health Mariners Hospital in Tavernier, the primary community hospital for the Upper Keys, under deputy custody. The article notes he continued fighting hospital staff there, prompting his transfer to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Miami-Dade County that regularly takes complex trauma transfers out of the Keys. The incident resulted in no life-threatening injuries, per the report.
Guns Found in the SUV, Passenger Also Arrested
A search of the abandoned Dodge SUV turned up two handguns, the outlet reports. Because May is a convicted felon, actual possession of a firearm during a felony offense triggers a mandatory minimum three-year sentence under Florida Statute § 790.23, which classifies felon-in-possession as a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years. Fleeing and eluding with wanton disregard for pedestrian safety, which May is also accused of doing through the Publix lot, carries its own second-degree felony exposure of up to 15 years and mandatory license revocation under Florida Statute § 316.1935.
May's passenger, 28-year-old Anthony Shane Morris of Islamorada, remained in the SUV when deputies approached and allegedly gave them a false name for May before moving into the driver's seat as May fled on foot, the report states. Morris told investigators he and May had met roughly five days earlier. He was booked into jail on a charge of accessory after the fact, a felony that under Florida Statute § 777.03 carries penalties ranging from five to 15 years depending on the severity of the underlying crime.
Florida Charges Pile Up Before Possible Ohio Extradition
May now faces Florida charges including armed burglary, grand theft, fleeing and eluding while endangering pedestrians, resisting arrest with and without violence, possession of a firearm by a felon during a felony, and driving with a suspended license. He remained in custody as of Saturday morning, per the outlet's report.
Beyond the Florida charges, May carries active Ohio warrants for robbery, battery by strangulation, and a probation violation. He is identified as a resident of East Liberty, Ohio, an unincorporated Logan County community of 371 people roughly 45 miles northwest of Columbus, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Under Florida's Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, codified at Florida Statute § 941.02, out-of-state fugitives with active felony warrants are held in county custody or processed on a governor's warrant before being formally extradited to the demanding state — a process May is expected to face once his Florida court proceedings in the 16th Judicial Circuit conclude.
This is not the first time a high-speed pursuit along U.S. 1 in Islamorada has made headlines this year. Hoodline previously covered a wild DUI chase in which a suspect hit a deputy's bike and threatened officers along the same corridor.
