With flat tires and no pants,Florida man arrested after Martin County pursuit

A 48-year-old Deerfield Beach man was naked from the waist down and said he was on a month-long crack cocaine binge when he tried to outrun sheriff's deputies during a wild chase on Interstate 95, according to authorities.

Frederick Francis Petrone is now facing charges of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding at a high speed and possession of drug paraphernalia after Martin County sheriff's deputies pulled him over in his Ford F-150 truck, according to officials.

Petrone, who said he works in air conditioning, was being held Thursday on $525,000 bond.

The incident began at 3:44 a.m. Sunday when a U.S. Border Patrol officer reported Petrone fled after the federal officer stopped him for reckless driving, and was heading north on I-95 at Mile Marker 106, according to a Martin County Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit.


Three sheriff's deputies in marked cars soon were on Petrone's tail and tried to force his truck to a stop. Petrone swerved into the median, where he lost a tire, but still managed to continue fleeing.

During the pursuit, Petrone rammed a deputy's car and changed directions on the highway before he was finally stopped when the remaining three tires on the truck were punctured by a spike strip set out by authorities, the report said.

When finally boxed in by officers' cars, deputies approached with guns drawn. But Petrone was screaming and refused to get out of the truck, deputies said. He was finally pulled out of the vehicle after a deputy smashed the passenger side window in order to unlock the truck.

When taken to the ground and handcuffed, Petrone was wearing a black t-shirt and socks but no pants or underwear, deputies said.　

"Petrone was in a state of excited delirium when placed under arrest," one deputy wrote in the arrest affidavit. "Petrone had body tremors and was panicking. Petrone also fainted while on scene.

"Petrone stated numerous times that he had been smoking crack for over a month and that he had been drinking all day."

He was taken to Martin Memorial Hospital South in Stuart, and then to the Martin County Jail.

Petrone's criminal history in South Florida includes arrests for theft, burglary, traffic offenses and drug possession, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records. He was first arrested on a cocaine charge in 1987.