YouTube embedding / Intense police bodycam footage of cops chasing down alleged drug trafficker in-car pursuit, then on foot into an abandoned house with a 4-year-old boy caught up in it all. The boy, 4, was not injured.
BY HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A fleeing driver with a 4-year-old boy and a trafficking amount of fentanyl, meth, and other drugs in his car was tracked down and arrested after abandoning the vehicle in favor of trying to hide in a vacant house Thursday night.
Members of the Sheriff’s Office East Volusia Crime Suppression Team were in the area of Ridgewood and Mason avenues near the Holly Hill city limits shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday looking for a silver Toyota Camry that had fled from an attempted traffic stop the night prior. When a deputy spotted the car, it took off again, turned off all its lights, and fled at a high rate of speed.
A Holly Hill police officer spotted the vehicle after the initial deputy lost sight of it, and then found it abandoned in the back yard of 940 Gardenia Drive, Daytona Beach, with the driver’s door open. The officer saw a man yelling “Hurry up!” and banging on the back door of the house, which was locked. The officer drew his Taser and ordered the man to stop, but the suspect was holding the child between himself and the officer. When the door opened from the inside, the suspect pushed the child through and ran inside behind him.
A Holly Hill police officer spotted the vehicle after the initial deputy lost sight of it, and then found it abandoned in the back yard of 940 Gardenia Drive, Daytona Beach, with the driver’s door open. The officer saw a man yelling “Hurry up!” and banging on the back door of the house, which was locked. The officer drew his Taser and ordered the man to stop, but the suspect was holding the child between himself and the officer. When the door opened from the inside, the suspect pushed the child through and ran inside behind him.
The suspect, who deputies had already identified and recognized as 31-year-old Tyrell J. Jackson (DOB 2/12/1990), soon ran out the front door and down the street.
Deputies followed and then began searching the area. Ultimately deputies found Jackson hiding under a blanket inside a vacant residence at 967 Gardenia, and took him into custody without incident.
In the car, deputies found a backpack on the driver’s floorboard containing two bricks of heroin/fentanyl along with about 12 grams in powder form, about 161 grams of meth, several MDMA tablets, and Acetaminophen and Oxycodone Hydrochloride pills.
Also in the bag was Jackson’s wallet with his credit cards and bank receipts. In the driver’s door pocket, there was a plastic bag with about 5 grams of crack
cocaine. In the back seat, deputies found a child’s jacket with the child’s name on the tag.
Given that a typical opiate user generally purchases 1/10 gram to 1 gram of heroin/fentanyl at a time, it was calculated that Jackson had anywhere from 223 to 2,234 doses of heroin/fentanyl in his possession. With a typical meth user purchasing 1/2 gram to 1 gram, the total meth doses ranged from 161 to 322.
Jackson was charged with trafficking in fentanyl, trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of cocaine, Oxycodone, and MDMA with intent to sell, possession of narcotic paraphernalia, fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement, child neglect, and driving with a suspended license.
A records check revealed he was already out on bond in reference to possession of cocaine, possession of narcotic paraphernalia, resisting an officer with violence, criminal mischief, driving with a suspended license, and giving a false name to law enforcement.
Jackson was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail where he remained held without bond Friday morning.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.