Inset: Larry Rada Jr. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office). Background: San Carlos Boulevard at Linda Loma Drive in Lee County, Florida (Google Maps).
A Florida man will not spend time behind bars after acknowledging that he fled from law enforcement while three small children were with him — and, during the escape attempt, threw the children over a fence.
Larry Rada entered a nolo contendere plea, meaning he did not contest the allegations, to charges including child abuse, racing on a roadway, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer at high speed or with wanton disregard, and driving with a suspended or revoked license, according to Lee County court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
Instead of jail, a judge sentenced him to one year of community control, to be followed by four years on probation.
Rada, who was 26 when he was first arrested last September, had initially faced a broader list of accusations, including three counts of cruelty toward a child, three counts of child neglect, hit-and-run, and other charges, as Law&Crime previously reported.
The case began on Sept. 13, 2025, when a Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputy on patrol near Fort Myers Beach spotted a black Infiniti with Michigan license plates allegedly being driven in a reckless manner, according to a probable cause statement reviewed by Law&Crime.
When the deputy attempted to pull the car over, the Infiniti allegedly made “a complete 360” around the patrol vehicle before speeding off.
The deputy did not continue chasing the vehicle, authorities said. But as he drove on, several motorists in the area waved him down and reported that Rada’s car had crashed into a ditch.
The officer arrived at the location — the intersection of San Carlos Boulevard and Linda Loma Drive — and spoke with multiple witnesses. Rada had fled from the car with three young children, one witness reportedly said. He was apparently the uncle of two of the children and the father of the other.
Authorities said there was surveillance footage of Rada “cutting across his backyard with all three victims, approaching a locked gate, and proceeding to toss all three victims over the fence,” which measured 5.92 feet high, the probable cause statement read.
The children “appeared to be in distress and crying” as they approached the fence and were “hurl[ed]” over, “in a manner with blatant disregard for the children’s safety,” authorities wrote. One of the children later “began to vomit profusely, and all three children complained of pain in various parts of their bodies.”
Rada jumped over the fence himself, fell, and disappeared into the backyard, the court document continues. The children were later seen to be “covered in dirt stains.” Rada was arrested at his home, and the kids were brought to a hospital, where a doctor “explained that all three victims had presented to the emergency room with pain in their head and abdomen and reported being involved in a traffic crash in which Rada was driving.”
The since-convicted defendant had apparently picked the children up from school the previous afternoon and was set to spend a few days with them. One of the women said she last spoke to Rada on Saturday at about 6:30 p.m. when he said the kids “were doing well.” However, Rada’s brother later told her about the crash, authorities said.
“Throughout the interview, Rada maintained that he knew what he did was wrong but was scared to return to prison,” the court document stated.
