Octavius Pullen

After a plea went out to the public for the recapture of suspect Octavius Pullen last week by way of Crime Stoppers, an arrest was made July 24.

Pullen was booked at the Lee County Jail without bond.

He was wanted after posting bond following his July 8 arrest, when he reportedly tried to ram a LCSO car following a high-speed chase that started in east Fort Myers and ended up in Lehigh on SR82, where his vehicle hit a tree and he and a passenger fled on foot.

The passenger, Joshua White, was arrested and charged.

Pullen, 28, is a convicted felon, with prior arrests for armed robbery, resisting officers, fraud and driving with a suspended license, among other charges.

Trish Route, coordinator with Crime Stoppers, made the public plea asking the public to be on the outlook for Pullen, who had been released on bond, before detectives discovered evidence that they said tied him to a house burglary prior to the traffic stop and subsequent high-speed race.

“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Fugitive Warrants Unit, Octavius Pullen was taken into custody on Thursday afternoon, July 24, and was booked into the Lee County Jail at 3:55 p.m., where he was charged with armed burglary, grand theft and the grand theft of a firearm,” Route said.

“These criminals can run, but ultimately they will get caught. The detectives handling this case worked relentlessly to ensure that Pullen was put back behind bars as quickly as possible so that he can feel the full repercussions of his actions,” Route said. “Crime Stoppers applauds the Fugitive Warrants unit for their concerted efforts in returning Pullen to jail less than a week after he was released on bond.”

When the plea went out to help locate Pullen, the public was advised that he was armed and should be considered dangerous.

Route said that at the time of their arrests, there didn’t seem to be any clear cut reason why Pullen and White would have taken such dramatic actions, and put the lives of so many people at risk.

“Now we know why they were running – they are believed to have just broken into a home in the southern part of the county, and didn’t want to get caught with stolen goods,” she said last week.