VIDEO: Felon head-butts, tries to bite deputy after attempting to steal vehicle
FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. - A felon who crashed into a light pole and then attempted to steal another vehicle was arrested on Tuesday but not without resistance, as law enforcement said that he head-butted a deputy and tried to bite him through his vest.
The Flagler County Sheriff's Office said that the incident happened on Tuesday at 8:45 p.m. on Fieldstone Lane in Palm Coast. A vehicle crashed into a light pole and power lines were in the roadway.
They said that witnesses saw a driver flee from the crash and then attempt to enter a neighbor's vehicle. When deputies arrived at the scene, they said that the suspect, identified as 38-year-old Jesse Paiva, was trying to get into the vehicle. He then head-butted the deputy in the chest and tried to bite through his vest.
During this, they said that a pair of metal brass knuckles fell out of Paiva's pocket and onto the ground. Deputies determined that he had ingested some type of narcotic.
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Eventually, Paiva was taken to the ground but he actively resisted arrest, the Sheriff's Office said. The deputy sustained minor injuries and three witnesses helped hold Paiva down until other deputies could arrive and secure him. However, even in handcuffs, Paiva continued to resist arrest. He was eventually put on a stretcher and placed in an ambulance, where he continued to resist. He sustained superficial injuries, deputies said.
They reportedly found a screwdriver on Paiva at the hospital. He also had two straws with a white residue on them that tested positive for cocaine. Two large knives were also found on the driver's side floorboard.
“There is no telling what this dangerous individual was planning in his diluted mental state that night,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “The crash very well may have just saved his life and the lives of others by stopping him before he could continue on his path of destruction. Thankfully our deputies were not seriously hurt and we are grateful to the good Samaritans who stopped to assist until more help arrived. If you fight a Deputy Sheriff, you will go to jail with more felony charges. Illegal drugs make people do stupid things.”
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After being cleared from the hospital, deputies said that Paiva was placed under arrest for Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, Resisting Arrest with Violence, Possession of a Weapon by a Convicted Felon, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Introduction of Contraband to a Detention Facility.
He reportedly was already on felony probation and under supervised release for a previous conviction of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. As a result, they said he was also charged with violation of probation.
Paiva is said to be in jail with no bond allowed.
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