An Orlando man who was wanted by police in connection with a homicide was caught and arrested after attempting to elude police by fleeing to the Tallahassee area.
On Saturday, January 8, at around 2:24 p.m., a trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol attempted to stop a black sedan after it failed to move over and passed emergency vehicles engaged in a traffic stop.
The trooper enabled his lights and attempted to pull over the driver, 49-year-old Steven Spencer Clary, before pulling alongside Clary’s vehicle, according to the FHP report.
The trooper was forced to disengage when Clary’s vehicle took evasive actions. After speaking with the Tallahassee Regional Communications Center, the trooper was advised that Clary had been involved in a homicide that had occurred earlier in the day in Orlando.
According to the report, Orlando Police Department requested that the suspect be arrested and that the vehicle be detained and treated as a crime scene. The trooper was granted permission to reengage and a short time later, found Clary’s vehicle in a pack of traffic.
While on Interstate 10, the trooper pursued Clary while he rapidly changed lanes and weaved in and out of traffic in excess of 120 mph. The trooper attempted to box in Clary’s vehicle unsuccessfully, stating in his report that he had a “profound fear” that Clary was going to collide with the rear of his patrol vehicle and cause a “serious collision.”
The report indicates that the trooper also attempted unsuccessfully to use the pursuit intervention technique (PIT) maneuver on Clary’s vehicle.
After multiple units joined the chase, Clary’s vehicle was eventually disabled by another trooper’s vehicle and he was detained at 2:45 p.m.
Clary was arrested and charged with fleeing and eluding law enforcement with disregard for safety of others. According to a press release from FHP, Orlando Police officers drove to Tallahassee to interview Clary after he was detained. Evidence was gathered from the vehicle relating to the murder that took place that morning (OPD case number 2022-00008650).