Report: Stun gun, firearm both drawn to subdue Woods.
LIVE OAK — A traffic stop on Interstate 10 eventually turned to multiple weapons being drawn and an arrest.
According to a Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office report, Anthony Eugene Woods, a 55-year-old from Debary, was pulled over on I-10 heading east near County Road 136 around 5:30 a.m. Sunday, where deputies say Woods was driving 91 mph in a 70-mph zone.
When Woods refused to identify himself, the report states that Woods “aggressively argued and shouted” with the officer before being ordered out of his vehicle. After about three minutes, Woods gave the officer his Florida driver’s license.
The report states that when the officer directed Woods to the front of their patrol vehicle, Woods complied while continuing to argue and shout, at one point pointing in the officer’s face. When the officer attempted to restrain Woods, he pulled away from the officer’s handcuffs, pushing the officer’s arms and again pointing in the officer’s face.
The deputy then pointed their stun gun at Woods before he replied, “Whatchu gonna do? You’re not gonna do nothin’,” according to the report. Woods then ripped the weapon away from the deputy after they discharged it, missing Woods before it fell to the ground.
The struggle between the two continued, with Woods eventually saying to the deputy, “I’ll take your life mother******,” and, “I’m gonna take your mother****** life,” according to the report.
Woods then grasped the back of the deputy’s neck with his left hand. After Woods refused to back off, the officer drew their firearm, saying, “I don’t want to have to shoot you.”
Woods continued the attack, the two grappling upright before Woods allegedly knocked the officer’s body camera off, unbuttoning their right shoulder lapel and ripping off their name tag. Woods eventually fell to the ground where the officer held him at gunpoint before arresting him.
The report states that Woods both appeared and sounded intoxicated throughout the incident, swaying and stumbling with slurred and, at times, nonsensical speech, specifically pointing to Woods’ walking in the middle of the right interstate lane when the officer asked him to walk to the front of the patrol vehicle.
When officers attempted to conduct a field sobriety test, Woods initially agreed before becoming evasive and uncooperative, claiming an inability to complete the test due to a medical condition. Woods refused a breathalyzer test. The report also said an open alcohol container was found in the rear of Woods’ vehicle.
The report states that Woods refused to sign a traffic citation for driving under the influence. Following the arrest, a vaporizer pen was also found in his vehicle that, after being read his Miranda warning, Woods alluded contained marijuana. Woods is a licensed medical marijuana patient. Officers believe the vape pen contained concentrated THC, which was to be field-tested and sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement lab for confirmation.
Woods is charged with aggravated battery on an officer, resisting with violence, resisting without violence, refusal to accept or sign a citation, driving under the influence and possession of a hallucinogen.