Bradenton DWI suspect tells cops: 'My dog was driving that car'

MANATEE -- A drunken driving suspect who led authorities on a high-speed chase before he was arrested, told deputies that his dog and not him was driving the car, according to a Manatee County Sheriff's Office report.

A deputy this past Wednesday evening was on patrol in the 1200 block of 21st Avenue East, when he saw Reliford Cooper III, 26, driving at a high rate of speed, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The deputy pursued Cooper for several blocks. After running through at least two ditches, Cooper crashed his car into a house in the 1700 block of 18th Street East and fled on foot to a nearby church.

Churchgoers forced Cooper out and he was arrested, according to the sheriff's office.

As he was arrested, Cooper, who according to the report smelled of alcohol and burnt marijuana, said, "I wasn't driving that car."

"Reiford continued to ramble without being questioned," the report continues. "He said, 'My dog was driving that car, I ran cause I wanted to. You ain't going to find no drugs or guns on me,'" the report states.

As of Monday morning, Cooper remains on jail, charged with DWI with damage to property, aggravated fleeing with injury or damage, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage and resisting arrest. He is being held in the Manatee County jail on bonds totaling $26,120.

This story was originally published October 12, 2015 at 9:53 AM with the headline "Bradenton DWI suspect tells cops: 'My dog was driving that car' ."