A suspected fugitive wanted on out-of-state warrants for nearly three years will be returned to face several weapons and drug charges.
Carlos Meza, 23, of Osceola County, Fla., waived extradition Thursday, Jan. 12, in Logan County Common Pleas Court, and will be given given over to authorities there to be transported back to that jurisdiction.
The arrest and extradition is the culmination of a nationwide arrest warrant that dates back late winter, 2020.
Law enforcement from the Osceola County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office issued a felony escape warrant March 13, 2020, for the suspect after he failed to appear for a court hearing to face charges that included aggravated assault with a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm, resisting an officer, discharging a firearm in public and fleeing and eluding law enforcement.
Those charges were the result of a Jan. 28, 2020, highspeed pursuit with multiple Florida law enforcement jurisdictions involving five other suspects.
According to law enforcement and media reports following that incident, Osceola County, Fla., deputies were initially responding to reports of occupants in a black Dodge Charger firing guns in a residential area.
Deputies spotted the vehicle on U.S. Highway 192, and kept it in sight until a sheriff’s helicopter arrived. A traffic stop reportedly was attempted, but the vehicle fled at a high rate of speed.
Deputies did not pursue, but the helicopter followed the suspects into neighboring Orange County, Fla.
In their attempt to flee, the occupants reportedly threw two assault rifles and a shotgun out the window of the car. The guns were later located and retrieved by deputies.
All occupants fled on foot along a boulevard in the Winter Garden, Fla., area. Five suspects, including Meza, were arrested, and additional firearms were found in the suspects’ possession and inside the vehicle.
Meza is suspected to have been driving the vehicle during that pursuit. He was also charged with a slew of traffic offenses including reckless driving, as well as possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana, according to public records.
Since about last November, He had reportedly been living at an address on Summit Street in Columbus, records show, possibly sharing that residence with a family member.
He was apprehended locally in conjunction with a traffic stop, but was not charged in Logan County with any crime, Logan County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.