Man tried to outrun Florida law enforcement on riding lawnmower, deputies say
(Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office)
A Florida man who successfully avoided law enforcement earlier this year by reportedly jumping off a boat into a swamp was unsuccessful in his latest venture after he attempted to outrun deputies on a riding lawnmower.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office – located in the Florida Panhandle, near Destin – said in a news release shared on its Facebook page that its deputies tried to serve 40-year-old Dusty Mobley with warrants in January 2022 related to an investigation into an alleged stolen boat. However, when deputies approached him, he reportedly "dove off the side and disappeared into the swamp to avoid going to jail."
(Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office)
Five months later, deputies showed up on Saturday morning to a house and attempted to arrest Mobley again. This time, he was reportedly on a John Deere riding lawnmower and put it into "high gear and tried to outrun pursuing deputies," the sheriff's office said.
Deputies used a Taser on him, and he was eventually taken into custody, according to the release. He was booked into the Okaloosa County Jail on several charges, including grand theft, grand theft of a vehicle, felony criminal mischief, resisting an officer, possession of a concealed weapon, carrying a concealed handcuff key, and possession of drug paraphernalia, among others.
Mobley is accused of using heavy machinery to cut a hole into a building on Jan. 1, 2022, and steal a $40,000 boat from a nearby business earlier this year.
He is being held in jail on no bond.