Deputies arrested a 37-year-old man wanted for failing to register as a sex offender in Miami-Dade County after he led them on a brief foot chase following a traffic stop in Immokalee early Thursday, sheriff’s reports said.Rene Pons, who refused to give his address on arrest reports, was charged with failing to register as a sex offender, resisting arrest and providing false information to law enforcement.
Arrest reports say a CCSO deputy stopped a Ford pickup on State Road 82 around 12:23 a.m. for traveling 81 mph in a 60 mph zone. The deputy noticed the passenger, Pons, was not wearing a seat belt.
When the deputy asked Pons for his identification Pons told him he didn’t have ID and said his name was Jose Vega, reports said. The deputy conducted a computer check of state Department of Motor Vehicle records for a driver license photo of Jose Vega and the photo did not match Pons, reports said.
Through further investigation the deputy was able to identify Pons through two active warrants for his arrest out of Miami-Dade which stated he was a documented sex offender who had recently been released from prison and had absconded from state-ordered supervision, reports said.
Pons ran out of the pickup into a grassy field, ignoring deputies’ orders to stop, reports said. He then ran into a canal where deputies apprehended him.
He was additionally charged with the two out-of-county warrants, reports said.
