The Associated Press
Lake City, Fla. (AP) -- Officials believe a Naples couple was in the car that Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. George “Andy” Brown III was trying to stop when he lost control of his patrol car and was killed.
Gregory Hampton Platt, 31, and Kelly Jean Smith, 25, had not yet been charged Wednesday in Columbia County where Brown was killed Tuesday, but they were charged in Citrus County with crimes allegedly committed while fleeing police there several hours after Brown’s death.
After an initial court appearance Wednesday in Citrus County, Platt and Smith were ordered held without bond. Steve Zay with the Public Defender’s Office said they had not received the files on Platt and Smith and could not comment.
Citrus County charges against Platt include leaving the scene of an accident, aggravated battery and fleeing and eluding. Platt also had a suspended license. Smith was arrested for possession of cocaine and resisting an officer without violence, according to their arrest affidavits.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Platt has a prior criminal history including burglary, grand theft, robbery and aggravated battery. He was released from prison in 1999.
Brown was pursuing a traffic violator on Columbia County Road 341 when his 2001 Chevrolet Camaro spun off the road and struck several trees six miles south of Lake City, said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Mike Burroughs. The FHP said speed was a factor in the crash, but gave few other details about the chase.
Witnesses said they saw the car Brown was attempting to stop leave the area after the accident. A car matching the description was seen several hours and several counties away.
A Citrus County Sheriff’s Office deputy followed the car, a dark-colored Neon, as it headed into the Crystal River city limits.
Gail Tierney with the Sheriff’s Office said the car turned east on State Road 44 and hit a car in the turning lane. The car in the turning lane was damaged, but no one was injured.
Platt then reversed his car, hitting a deputy’s car behind him and then ran from his car. He was stopped two deputies using Tasers. Smith, a passenger, was arrested by officers in the car.
Brown, 54, had been a second-generation trooper since July 1970, following in his father’s footsteps. Brown doubled as a “Bear in the Air,” the nickname given to troopers who also pilot FHP spotter aircraft.
He retired in 1996 after a career that saw assignments in southeast and in northeast Florida, but returned to the force after a year off and was stationed in Lake City.
“He truly had the safety of the public at heart,” Burroughs said. “He truly believed in enforcing traffic laws.”
He was the first FHP trooper to die in the line of duty since Brad Crooks was shot and killed in Hillsborough County in 1998.
Brown, who had a 13-year-old son, also was the 38th trooper to die in Florida since the FHP started keeping records in 1941. Seventeen of those were shot, 15 died in auto crashes, five died in plane crashes and one died in an explosion.