TITUSVILLE, Fla. – A Kissimmee man is in the Brevard County Jail after police say he drove drunk trying to speed away from officers while two young children were improperly secured in their car seats.
Titusville police said Jeremy Baker intentionally tried to elude officers late Monday while driving intoxicated on Cheney Highway.
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Officers were called for a reckless driver when they spotted Baker speeding in a silver sports car driving into a neighborhood on Nader Lane, officials said.
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Residents in the area called 911 and reported that a driver was speeding in and out of the neighborhood, which was a dead-end street with a speed limit of 5 mph. An officer stopped Baker as he was exiting the neighborhood, again asking him to stop the car, police said. Baker then sped past the officer and a stop sign and turned back on Cheney Highway, according to an arrest report.
Other officers blocked Baker at the entrance of the street. The 33-year-old got out of his car and walked away from officers, trying to first walk into traffic, court documents note.
An officer eventually detained Baker. During the interaction, Baker threatened to “punch him in the jaw and slap him in the face,” the police report reads. Officers say Baker also stated he was going to “beat” the officer while getting in his face, which is when they smelled alcohol, according to the report. Officers also described Baker as being intoxicated, pointing to his slurred speech, watery eyes and “massive mood swings.”
As more officers arrived, Baker quickly told them, “I don’t have a gun,” the report stated. As he worked to find his driver’s license in the car, he told officers, “If I had a gun and wanted to shoot you, I would have shot you already,” according to the report.
As Baker continued to search for the documents that officers requested, police say they saw two bottles of fireball on the driver’s side floorboard and a little boy and a little girl in the backseat. Officers say neither child was properly secured in their car seats.
Baker is now facing a list of charges, including two counts of child neglect, DUI, fleeing and eluding a police officer, resisting an officer and threatening police. His bond was set at $16,500.