Walter Medina, 48, of Tampa, had several warrants out of Hillsborough County following an incident where he allegedly kidnapped a female and held her captive against her will for several months while physically abusing her. The female escaped and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office responded to meet with her, however, the suspect, Medina, fled.
On Tuesday, Medina led FHP troopers, deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and officers with the Lakeland Police Department on a multi-county pursuit where Medina drove at speeds over 100 miles per hour, was involved in a hit and run and recklessly drove on a heavily populated roadway endangering everyone on the road by weaving in and out of lanes with disregard to safety or the law.
The pursuit ended after Medina crashed his vehicle, hitting a raised median after running a red light. When law enforcement approached the suspect vehicle, Medina refused to comply with orders and reached inside his vehicle, ignoring the directions to show his hands. K-9 Rico was released, apprehended the suspect, and made an arrest.
On the day of the chase and arrest, FHP troopers were advised of an active pursuit of an attempted murder suspect driving a gold Town and Country Ford van traveling Eastbound on Interstate 4 (I-4) from Polk County entering Osceola County.While troopers in the area prepared to stop the vehicle traveling towards them, they observed a gold van matching the description driving at a high rate of speed while being pursued by another FHP trooper, deputies with Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and officers with the Lakeland Police Department. The suspect vehicle, attempting to elude law enforcement, began to weave in and out of traffic recklessly, endangering other motorists.
The suspect, encountering heavy traffic, began utilizing the left shoulder to drive more than 100 miles per hour. While continuing to flee law enforcement, the driver failed to maintain a single lane and weaved between other vehicles using both shoulders of the roadway. Troopers attempted to conduct precision immobilization techniques (PIT) twice to stop the vehicle from endangering others on the roadway; however, the maneuvers were unsuccessful.
As the suspect veered from the inside lane to the outside lane, it quickly approached another vehicle, colliding with the left side of it and continuing to travel at a high rate of speed, approaching the exit of John Young Parkway. Troopers attempted another PIT maneuver and were unable to stop the fleeing suspect. The suspect vehicle exiting the ramp continued to drive recklessly at high speed, driving through a red traffic signal before attempting to make a right turn but colliding with a raised median, disabling the vehicle.
Troopers conducted a felony traffic stop on the vehicle and gave verbal commands to the driver directing him to comply with their orders. The driver continued to resist Troopers instruction to comply, and as other law enforcement arrived, including an FHP K-9 unit, the suspect refused to show his hands and began reaching his right hand into the vehicle. FHP K-9 Rico was deployed and apprehended the fleeing suspect allowing Troopers to make an arrest.
The suspect, identified as Walter Medina, 48 of Tampa, had active warrants out of Hillsborough County for the following:
- Aggravated Battery Great Bodily Harm and Deadly Weapon
- Armed Kidnapping Harm or Terrorizing
- Armed False Imprisonment
- Attempted Murder in the Second Degree with Weapon
- Tampering with a Witness
- Tampering with Physical Evidence
Following Medina’s pursuit from law enforcement he will face additional charges including:
- Reckless Driving Damage to Person or Property
- Flee to Elude Law Enforcement at High Speed
- Hit and Run-Leaving the Scene of a Crash Involving Damage to Property
Walter Medina was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center by EMS while Troopers followed. Upon release from the hospital, Medina will be delivered to the Orange County Jail where he will be booked on the above charges.
The investigation remains active and additional charges are pending
