It was the loud “snorting wild boar" like snoring which led to the apprehension of Pensacola resident Kevin Lee Barbour, 37, by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday afternoon in Milton.
According to an SRSO press release, Barbour was found asleep under a trailer in Milton after deputies were searching for him in a residential neighborhood near Avalon Boulevard.
According to his arrest report, the incident began when a sheriff’s deputy, patrolling in the area, attempted to perform a traffic stop on a truck being driven by Barbour. In the report, the deputy observed the truck’s tag lights were not functioning.
With the patrol vehicle following, the suspect vehicle made a u-turn. The deputy then activated his patrol lights, the report said. The truck then “abruptly shifted in the left turn lane from the northbound lanes of Avalon Blvd to westbound Collinswood Drive.”
The truck then came to a stop as Barbour exited the vehicle. Barbour reportedly fled towards the residential neighborhood near Crestwood Drive.
In the report’s narrative, the deputy gave a description of Barbour over his radio as he gave chase through two residential yards. The deputy then said his uniform became “tattered” upon crossing a chain-link fence. The deputy reported his foot became entangled with barbed wire. In the narrative, the officer lost his footing and lost his sight of Barbour.
Deputies were able to identify Barbour due to his cell phone, located within the truck. The cell phone, which was left in the driver’s seat, displayed Barbour’s Facebook page with his name featured on the screen.
After receiving the information, deputies learned Barbour’s driver’s license was suspended, the report said. In addition, deputies also learned the truck he had been driving was reported stolen in Escambia County.
A K-9 unit was brought in to help track Barbour. The search led deputies to the area where the first deputy initially lost sight of Barbour. After deputies heard Barbour snoring from under a trailer, located behind a business near the initial traffic stop.
Barbour was then arrested without further incident, the report said. Barbour told deputies he fled because of his license, he refused to comment on the stolen truck.
In the report, deputies also discovered the Florida tag on the truck did not belong to the stolen vehicle.
Barbour is currently located at the Santa Rosa County Jail with a $16,500 bond. Barbour is facing charges of criminal mischief, grand theft auto and resisting an officer without violence.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: SRSO: Snoring leads to apprehension of fleeing suspect