By Sara K. Clarke
Orlando Sentinel
EUSTIS, Fla. — A 25-year-old Eustis man who authorities say led them on a high-speed chase along Interstate 4 on Saturday night as he fired shots at them has been charged with two counts of attempted murder on a law-enforcement officer.
Authorities said Jason Morse carjacked two vehicles, robbed OxyContin from a Walgreens pharmacy and fired multiple shots at law enforcement as he fled down I-4 at speeds of up to 115 mph.
Morse faces a host of other charges in the incident, including robbery with a firearm, resisting an officer with violence, driving with a suspended license and possession of a weapon by a felon.
In an arrest report issued by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, authorities said they received a report of a carjacking in which Morse, a registered sex offender, had called for a cab to pick him up at his home on Royal Trails Road in Eustis, where he lives with his father. Morse then robbed the taxi driver of his car, cash and two cell phones at gunpoint before fleeing in the stolen vehicle.
Morse then drove to a Walgreens pharmacy on County Road 46A in Lake Mary, authorities said, and carjacked a woman at gunpoint who was waiting for her friend inside the store. Morse drove the woman’s car to a Walgreens on South International Parkway in Lake Mary, where he pulled a pistol and demanded all of the OxyContin.
At about 7 p.m., authorities said, Seminole County deputies pursued Morse on I-4 westbound. Morse exited at John Young Parkway, where he returned to I-4 heading eastbound at high speed while he fired out of the rear window. As Morse continued into Seminole County, authorities threw stop sticks that deflated the front tires of Morse’s car. Morse continued to fire at authorities, hitting two cars driven by Seminole County deputies and Orlando Police Department officers.
Morse, who was known by authorities to have a severe oxycodone addiction, was out of jail on pretrial release for robbery and was being monitored by GPS. He cut off the monitoring device and discarded it shortly after he left his father’s home, authorities said. Authorities said the 9 mm Smith & Wesson gun belonged to his father.
Morse was arrested in April in connection with two thefts of OxyContin in Seminole County. That same month, he was in a standoff with deputies in Lake County when officials tried to serve him with a warrant for failure to appear in court.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show Morse was convicted of lewd and lascivious exhibition with a victim younger than 16 in 2005 in Volusia County.
Authorities said Morse is scheduled to appear before a judge today at 1:30 p.m.
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