Deputies chase, nab scooter-riding suspect

A scooter-riding man eluded deputies Monday after a suspected drug deal.

On Thursday, deputies were ready.

The original pursuit happened around 11 a.m. Monday, when deputies say they saw Ples Hammond Jr. talking to the driver of a PT Cruiser outside 815 Leonard St. Hammond, who was on a scooter, reached into his waistband, leading the deputies to believe it was a drug transaction.

The PT Cruiser was pulled over, but when deputies stepped out of their cruiser, Hammond accelerated across the vacant lot at 813 Leonard St. He acknowledged the deputies' shouts to stop by smiling and waving, but Hammond didn't slow down as he crossed to Twigg Street, according to a report.

Deputies say they found crack cocaine in the PT Cruiser and arrested the driver, Phillip Napier, 52, of 7291 Woodland Drive, on a corresponding drug charge.

On Thursday, around 10:30 a.m., the same deputies came across Hammond on his scooter in the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Leonard Street.

A traffic stop was attempted on the scooter, which only prompted Hammond to accelerate into the nearby woods, according to a report. The cruiser followed with lights and siren for a short distance, before a deputy bailed out and chased Hammond on foot, a report states.

After a winding pursuit across the streets of South Brooksville, Hammond pulled into the backyard of his home at 234 E. Early St. Brooksville police were waiting.

Hammond, 52, was arrested on a driver's license violation and fleeing to elude charge in connection with Thursday's chase. He was additionally charged with resisting arrest without violence for the alleged offense on Tuesday.

The Yamaha scooter was towed.