A Liberty County man initially arrested on drunk driving charges is now facing other offenses after allegedly fighting the deputy attempting to take him into custody.
Donnie Ellis Brown, 36, of Hosford, has been charged with resisting arrest with violence, battery on a law enforcement officer and driving under the influence.
According to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, Dep. Gentry was patrolling on SR 65 South just after midnight last Wednesday when he spotted a vehicle running a stop sign at the intersection of CR 67 and SR 65. Dep. Gentry followed the car that was southbound, turning on his lights and siren. The driver, later identified as Brown, failed to stop immediately. After following him for an estimated 200 yards, Brown pulled over.
When Dep. Gentry approached, Brown was on a cell phone telling someone to “get on down here, I got pulled over, and call Donnie Conyers,” referring to the Liberty County sheriff. Dep. Gentry noticed a .22 long rifle in the passenger seat and smelled a strong odor of alcohol.
Dep. Gentry told Brown the reason for the stop and he allegedly responded, “I did not run a stop sign, you’re a liar.” When Dep. Gentry insisted he did run the stop sign, Brown replied, “Well, just give me a ticket and be done with it.”
Dep. Gentry asked Brown to step out of the vehicle and noticed he staggered, lost his balance on the way to the rear of the vehicle, and caught himself by grabbing hold of the car. Dep. Gentry conducted a series of field sobriety tests and determined Brown to be intoxicated. During the testing, Brown’s parents pulled up and parked.
Dep. Gentry told Brown he was under arrest for DUI and Brown started to walk toward his parents’ vehicle. He was ordered to stop by Dep. Gentry, but failed to do so.
Dep. Gentry then grabbed Brown, but he jerked away. Dep. Gentry grabbed him again, put him on the ground and tried to put handcuffs on him. Brown allegedly started to scuffle, flipped on his back and tried to throw Dep. Gentry off him. He then reportedly tried to grab the handcuffs and punched Dep. Gentry in his face. As the scuffle continued, Dep. Gentry lost his grip on the handcuffs and Brown threw them into the woods. After a warning with no compliance by Brown, Dep. Gentry gave him a burst of pepper spray. He then ceased resisting and was taken into custody.
Brown was booked into the Liberty County Jail and bonded out later that day.
