TAMPA - Tampa police chased the driver of a stolen 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier to Pasco County early Wednesday, finally arresting the man after he abandoned the car and tried to run.
According to a Tampa police report, officer Shane Coyour saw the Cavalier near Hillsborough and Lois avenues at 2 a.m. The car was reported stolen from Lakeland, so Coyour tried to pull over the driver, 43-year-old Paul M. Sloan, Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin said.
Sloan fled from the intersection of Hillsborough and MacDill avenues and went north on Dale Mabry Highway, according to the police report. Tampa police policy allows officers to chase drivers suspected of driving a stolen vehicle, so Coyour went after Sloan.
Sloan ditched the car in Pasco County and tried to run, but Coyour caught him, Durkin said.
Sloan was booked into the county jail on one count each of grand theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing police, driving with a suspended license and cocaine possession. He also faces two charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, jail records show.
He is being held in jail in lieu of $7,250 bail.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Sloan's criminal history dates to 1986 and includes convictions for crimes including vehicle theft, burglary and probation violation. He has served prison time in Florida and was released from his latest sentence in April, records show.
