FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – It took two deputies and three witnesses to get control of a man who was headbutting and biting after crashing his father’s car into a light pole while high on prescription drugs, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the investigation began around 8:45 p.m. Monday when 38-year-old Jesse James Paiva crashed into a light pole on Fieldstone Lane in Palm Coast, causing power lines to fall onto the roadway.
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Paiva’s father said he had been acting strange all day then came out of his room, took the keys took the to a red Lincoln MKZ and left the house on Fieldstone Lane, records show. By the time Paiva’s father looked out the window, Paiva and the car were already gone.
After the crash, Paiva is accused of running away from the scene and trying to enter a neighbor’s locked vehicle. Authorities said the first deputy arrived on scene at about that time and attempted to take Paiva into custody but Paiva resisted by pulling away, headbutting the deputy’s chest and attempting to bite him through his vest.
That first deputy’s body camera video was knocked off during the struggle.
By the time the second deputy arrived, three bystanders had stepped in to help get Paiva under control, according to the footage.
The video shows all five men pinning Paiva to the ground then flipping him over in order to get him handcuffed.
“Give me your right hand or you’re gonna get Tased,” a deputy said.
“Come on, Jesse,” one of the bystanders told Paiva.
Paiva can be heard grunting and making noises but otherwise didn’t say anything during the struggle.
“Is he messed up on something?” a deputy asked.
“His dad said he was on meds,” another witness replied.
Once Paiva was secured, deputies said they discovered that a pair of brass knuckles had fallen out of his pocket. They also said they found two large knives in the car he was driving.
Records show Paiva was taken to a hospital after the fight to be treated for minor injuries and while there, he was found to have a screwdriver in his possession. Deputies also realized as Paiva arrived at a detention center that he had two straws on him with a white residue that tested positive for cocaine, according to the affidavit.
Paiva admitted to snorting prescription pills and doing cocaine on occasion, the report said. Inside Paiva’s room, deputies said there was a plate with a blue pill, pill residue and a quarter on it. The blue pill was from a 60-count prescription that was filled on Monday but there was only one pill left in the bottle, records show.
Paiva is facing charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, possession of drug paraphernalia and introduction of contraband to a detention facility.
The deputy involved in the initial struggle suffered minor injuries.
“There is no telling what this dangerous individual was planning in his diluted mental state that night,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said. “The crash very well may have just saved his life and the lives of others by stopping him before he could continue on his path of destruction. Thankfully our deputies were not seriously hurt and we are grateful to the good Samaritans who stopped to assist until more help arrived. If you fight a Deputy Sheriff, you will go to jail with more felony charges. Illegal drugs make people do stupid things.”