A traffic stop Friday night quickly turned dangerous when an armed man fled from deputies, according to the Bulloch County Sheriff's Office.
He struck three deputies, ran, and tried crossing a chain link fence before deputies caught him, and in spite of use of a Taser, deputies still had to fight the suspect to take him into custody, Sheriff Lynn Anderson said in a news release issued Monday.
Tevin Myles, 22, of Lanier Drive, was later found to have a fully loaded gun as well as an assortment of illegal drugs, Anderson said.
Myles was "acting nervous" when Master Deputy Mark Guarino and Deputy 1st Class Randall Norman stopped a car just before 10 p.m. Friday at the entrance to Statesboro Crossing off Brannen Drive, Anderson said.
The driver, Tiffany Handy, 26, of Lanier Drive, had a suspended driver's license and was arrested. When Master Deputy Kirk McGlamery's K-9 partner Max "alerted" to the presence of drugs, Myles "became even more nervous," Anderson said.
When Guarino and Norman tried to detain Myles, he "struck all three deputies present before fleeing on foot. The deputies pursued Myles to the rear of Petco where they managed to stop him just before he crawled over a chain link fence in a dimly lit, wooded area," Anderson said.
Deputies repeatedly ordered the suspect to surrender, but he "ignored these commands and continued to physically strike and fight with deputies. Deputies attempted to use the Taser to subdue Myles, but it proved ineffective due to Myles' clothing and his close proximity to deputies," Anderson said.
During the fight, deputies saw Myles had a "fully loaded pistol on his person" and they called for assistance, the sheriff said.
Additional deputies, along with Statesboro and Georgia Southern University police officers and Georgia State Patrol troopers, responded, and Myles was taken into custody.
In addition to the pistol, Myles was found to be in possession of powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana, Anderson said.
"This incident highlights the dangers faced by deputies and officers on each shift that they work," the sheriff said. "Myles not only had the capability to flee from deputies but to wound or kill them should he have decided to do so. Fortunately, the deputies involved followed their training and took Myles into custody without having to use deadly force."
Both suspects were transported to the Bulloch County Jail for processing.
Myles was charged with a seat-belt violation, permitting an unlicensed person to drive, misdemeanor obstruction, felony obstruction, possession/use of a drug-related object, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
Handy was charged with driving with a suspended license, marijuana possession, possession/use of a drug-related object and obstruction.
Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.