ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A man arrested Friday in Orange County is accused of drug trafficking, among other charges connected to a case in which a Florida Highway Patrol trooper shot at him during an attempted traffic stop, according to the agency.
Henry Johnson, 29, faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a law-enforcement officer, aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude, trafficking in controlled substances, sale/delivery of cocaine, possession of OxyContin, and driving while license suspended, records show.
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According to an arrest affidavit, Johnson was behind the wheel of a rented car that fled from a trooper on Interstate 4 before 7 a.m. Friday. The trooper lost sight of the car but had managed to record its tag information, leading to their discovery of Johnson’s identity and records of the vehicle having been rented out using Turo, the affidavit states.
The trooper obtained the GPS coordinates of the vehicle and located it at an apartment complex in Goldenrod, requesting backup before deciding to approach it, according to the affidavit. With the second trooper eventually on scene, they both moved to block the vehicle in, the affidavit states.
The reporting trooper exited their patrol car believing he and the other trooper had managed to box in the vehicle, yet the suspect managed to drive off again, according to the affidavit.
“At this point I believed he was about to run directly over me and was in fear for my life. I discharged 4 rounds at the suspect vehicle in attempt to protect my life and that of the Trooper next to me,” the trooper said in a statement (sic).
The vehicle was found abandoned in a Harbor Freight parking lot nearby and Johnson was caught about a quarter mile away, troopers said, noting he was hospitalized for treatment of injuries suffered from glass broken during the shooting.