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Driver Crashes into Home, Faces Drug Charges

Crime | Arrest | Public Safety

A deputy tried to make a traffic stop on the car at about 2:30 a.m. this morning. Shortly after, the car crashed into a home, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said.

ST. PETERSBURG – Deputies assigned to the Violent Crimes Task Force have accused a man of multiple drug offenses after he was seen driving recklessly and crashed a car into a St. Petersburg home, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

Michael Todd Amons Jr., 27, of St. Petersburg, was treated by paramedics at the scene and was taken to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg for non-life-threatening injuries. He was charged with one count each of Trafficking in Cocaine, Trafficking in MDMA, Possession of Hydromorphone, Possession of Marijuana, and Reckless Driving. Deputies said the St. Petersburg Police Department has additional criminal charges pending against Amons. He will be taken to the Pinellas County Jail once he is released from the hospital.

According to deputies, about 2:30 a.m. today (March 1), a patrol deputy tried to make a a traffic stop on a 2012 Acura for a traffic violation on 71st Street near 54th Avenue N. The driver
of the Acura refused to stop for the deputy and drove northbound in a reckless manner, “blacking out” by turning off the headlights. The deputy did not pursue the car and eventually lost sight of it.

Members of the Violent Crimes Task Force were notified of the Acura that fled from the traffic stop. The VCTF is a countywide, multi-jurisdictional task force that focuses on violent crime in Pinellas County. The task force is comprised of law enforcement officers from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, St. Petersburg Police Department and the Clearwater Police Department.

VCTF members were working in the Pinellas Park area when they said they saw a car matching the description of the Acur, driving recklessly eastbound on 70th Avenue N from 49th Street.

VCTF members did not pursue the Acura but conducted intermittent surveillance on it as the driver ran several red traffic lights, stop signs and, at one point, exceeded 100 miles an hour with no headlights on.

VCTF members say the Acura proceeded southbound along Haines Road and then eastbound on 54th Avenue N. The driver, later identified as Amons was traveling eastbound in a neighborhood
on 53rd Avenue N when he failed to negotiate a turn at 10th Street N and lost control of the vehicle. The Acura left the roadway and crashed into a residence located at 5301 10th St. N.

The crash caused significant structure damage to the home; however, the five occupants inside the house were not injured.

Deputies said they found a significant amount of narcotics inside the Acura along with a large sum of U.S. currency.

Pinellas Sheriff | Crime | Drug Trafficking | Arrests | Tampabay News

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