DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A student at Bethune-Cookman University was arrested after leading authorities on a chase via both vehicle and foot in Daytona Beach on Thursday. Deputies from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said the vehicle was driving so fast it was going airborne as it ran over speed bumps.
Devon Lewis-Ward, 22, was arrested on eight charges, one of which is driving under the influence. He is also charged with two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, among other charges related to his driving and the car chase and a 2015 felony burglary charge for which he was on probation.
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Officials from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said they saw Lewis-Ward driving north on Clyde Morris Boulevard just before 1:30 a.m. He was driving his white Chevrolet approximately 100 mph in a 45 mph zone, which prompted a deputy to try and pull him over, according to the arrest report.
The report states that when the deputy turned on emergency lights, Lewis-Ward continued to drive away, eventually pulling into the Countryside Apartments complex. Deputies said Lewis-Ward then parked the car and ran from the driver's side, while the car's passenger, Daelazah Hadley, ran from the other side.
That was when deputies began to chase the suspects on foot.
Authorities chased the two through "several buildings" and eventually took both into custody, according to the report. Hadley was charged with resisting officer without violence. Deputies said Hadley was cooperative, while Lewis-Ward was not.
Lewis-Ward was "confrontational and yelling," and refused to stand up and walk to the patrol car on his own, officials said. Deputies said they eventually had to use pressure points to get Lewis-Ward into the back of the patrol car.
Once in the car, Lewis-Ward kicked the passenger door to prevent it from closing and "continued to scream and make threats" to deputies, according to the report. Authorities said Lewis-Ward then began to hit his head on the cage behind the driver's seat as well as kick off the deputy attempting to put his feet in a restraint. This prompted authorities to secure him in a full-body violent prisoner restraint.
The report quotes Lewis-Ward as telling deputies "he was going to rape [their] wives, daughters, and grandmothers when he gets out of jail." Lewis-Ward is also quoted as saying he was going to kill the arresting deputies and that he was driving the vehicle drunk.
Lewis-Ward failed field sobriety tests and was subsequently charged with DUI. Deputies said a Breathalyzer test showed Lewis-Ward's blood alcohol concentration was almost double the legal driving limit.
Lewis-Ward's license has been suspended five times since June 2015, most recently this May, and he was charged with driving with a suspended license once in September 2015. His probation for the burglary charge is out of Broward county and is scheduled to end in 2021.