Anthony Tovar

A Lee County man is accused of punching a deputy, stealing his cruiser and leading law enforcement officers on a chase. He then crashed and called his mother from the car using the deputy’s cell phone.

Anthony Tovar, 23, of the 100 block of Coolidge Ave., Lehigh Acres, was arrested on charges of carjacking, battery and two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing, resisting arrest and possession of not more than 20 grams of marijuana.

According to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office report:

About 11:15 a.m. Monday, a deputy was called to the area of Greenwood and Prospect Avenues in Fort Myers where a man with a gun was seen getting into a gray vehicle. The deputy saw a man and woman, exiting his cruiser and asked if they had called the Sheriff’s Office.

The woman was crying and the man was holding something in his hand behind his back.

The deputy asked the man what he was holding and he said it was a “joint.” The deputy took the marijuana cigarette and asked the man for identification.

At this point and without warning, the male struck the deputy in the face with a closed fist, knocking him backwards and disorientating him.

The man jumped into the patrol car and fled.

Other deputies who witnessed the incident ran toward the deputy, but had to jump out of the way of the stolen cruiser.

The deputies got back into their cruisers in search of Tovar.

When Tovar was located, the cruiser he was driving reached speeds at more than 100 mph, driving in the opposite lanes of traffic.

As the cruiser neared SR82 and Alabama Rd. a deputy used his cruiser to hit the rear of the stolen one, causing it into go into a field and crash.

As the man got out of the cruiser, he refused orders to get on the ground. As deputies attempted to arrest him, he reached toward a deputy’s waistband.

Tovar was then Tasered by two deputies.

It was learned that Tovar, while in the cruiser, called his mother from MacKinnon’s cell phone. She told deputies he said he stole a “police car and punched a cop. Anthony told her he wanted to die and he loved her.”

The woman with Tovar at the original scene said she and Tovar were talking about relationship problems and he had a rifle with him, but she wasn’t concerned about it.

The rifle was found near where the original incident took place.