Staff Report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 21-year-old from Palatka, Derrick Earl Burke, was taken into custody yesterday after evading deputies at a Quality Inn on Newberry Road and later making a getaway from an emergency room parking lot in the Hunter’s Crossing vicinity.

Follow this link to view the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office’s video of both chases.

On February 5, around 2:37 p.m., Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a call from the Quality Inn (located at 7516 West Newberry Road). A distressed woman had reportedly fled her hotel room, urgently shouting for someone to “Call 911,” claiming her boyfriend was armed. The suspect was identified as a Black man dressed in black and carrying a pink backpack.

The initial responding deputy spotted an individual fitting this description at the Quality Inn entrance, activated his patrol car’s emergency lights, and ordered the suspect to lie down. When the suspect ignored the deputy’s instructions, a taser was deployed, which proved ineffective. Consequently, the suspect bolted on foot. The deputy pursued him through the Quality Inn premises and into a Walgreens parking lot. The chase continued as the suspect leaped into a retention pond. However, his attempt to escape by climbing a fence was thwarted, and the deputy managed to tackle him. Despite being restrained, the suspect allegedly continued to resist and reached for his waistband before being securely handcuffed.

A subsequent search of the pink backpack revealed a loaded firearm, an additional loaded magazine, and a box of ammunition.

The deputy reported that Burke is currently on probation out of Putnam County and is not allowed to possess a firearm under the terms of his probation; however, he is not considered a convicted felon because adjudication of guilt was withheld. Burke has been charged with unlawfully carrying a concealed firearm, tampering with evidence, and resisting without violence.

Burke was transported to the HCA Florida Millhopper Emergency Room (4388 Northwest 53rd Avenue) to be medically cleared because a taser was deployed. Burke’s hands were handcuffed behind his back, and he was being escorted out of the emergency room when he twisted out of a deputy’s control and ran south along NW 43rd Street. The deputy pursued him on foot through the Hunter’s Crossing shopping center parking lot, where he lost sight of Burke. A perimeter was established, and K-9 units began tracking Burke.

Burke was found behind a home in the residential neighborhood south of Hunter’s Crossing Apartments. When he saw the deputy, he allegedly began to flee again and tried to jump a wooden fence, but the deputy pulled him off the fence and took him into custody.

Charges of escape and resisting an officer without violence were added to the previous charges.

Burke has juvenile convictions between 2014 and 2021, one adult felony conviction (violent), and three misdemeanor convictions (one violent); he is on probation and pre-trial diversion on separate cases in Putnam County. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $110,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.