Wanted Sarasota man crashed into patrol cars trying to get away from deputies who arrested him
A Sarasota man was wanted on numerous charges including possession of heroin, aggravated assault on law enforcement and aggravated assault of an elderly person when he was spotted Thursday by a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office deputy outside the Walmart on Lockwood Ridge Road just south of University Parkway.
He was parked in the fire lane outside the store’s lawn and garden, according to the probable cause affidavit. But when Manatee and Sarasota deputies pulled up parking in front, behind and alongside the passenger side of the vehicle he was driving activating their emergency lights, he still tried to get away.
Dalton Lynn Cook, 44, threw the vehicle into drive and rammed his vehicle into the Manatee sheriff’s patrol car in front of him and then rammed into the Sarasota sheriff’s patrol alongside him. Both deputies were still inside.
Cook ultimately crashed into a protective concrete pole. He was arrested and taken to the Manatee County jail to be booked.
It was not the first time deputies say Cook used a vehicle as a weapon against them.
On Wednesday night, Cook took off when Sarasota deputies tried to arrest him, swerving in an attempt to hit one of the deputies, according to the report.
According to Manatee County jail records, Cook is being held without bond.
