Michael Joseph Gonzalez, February 3rd, was traveling 100 mph when he drove around Corporal Tripp, in a 2002 BMW sedan running a red light in Ocala. Corporal Tripp activated his emergency lights, and siren to pursue the suspect. For several miles Gonzalez continued speeding over 100 mph. Gonzalez lost control of the car, and spun out into the grass. Corporal Tripp approached Gonzalez vehicle, after he lost control of his car, and Gonzalez quickly drove back out onto the road to continue fleeing, driving erratically at high speeds into a residential area.
30 minutes later other deputies in the area located his vehicle, and Corporal Milton Manchester conducted a traffic stop where Gonzalez pulled over into a gas station, and was placed under arrest after being surrounded by two officers vehicles, one that included Corporal Tripp. Corporal Tripp asked him why he fled, and his answer was he, “thought he could get away with it, and that it would be fun.”
Gonzalez was charged on February 3rd, with fleeing to elude a Law Enforcement Officer with Disregard for Safety and placed in the Marion County Jail on a $5000.00 Bond, and posted bond on February 4th, with a court date, March 05, 2024. In Florida this is listed as a third-degree felony with the potential of a 5-year prison sentence, officials said.