PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A Clearwater man was arrested on Monday afternoon after he led deputies on a "reckless" chase throughout parts of Pinellas County, according to the sheriff's office.
Authorities said it started with a domestic call at 1:46 p.m. in Treasure Island, at 9641 Gulf Boulevard. When officers arrived, the sheriff's office said the suspect, Ronald Giovino, 56, fired multiple shots at vehicles and then dropped his gun as he ran from officers.
Deputies with the sheriff's office heard radio traffic from Treasure Island officers and saw Giovino's vehicle near Gulf Boulevard and Captive Circle in St. Pete Beach. The deputies tried to stop him and then pursued him when he ran, the sheriff's office said.
Giovino drove southbound on Gulf Boulevard and kept driving "recklessly" through Pasadena and St. Petersburg, authorities said. Giovino veered into a grass median as he drove north on 66th Street and hit a traffic sign, which fell and hit a passing vehicle, authorities said.
After he hit the sign, the sheriff's office said Giovino made a sharp turn to avoid hitting another vehicle. Authorities said when he turned, a cruiser behind him, driven by Deputy Louis Neal III, 25, hit the vehicle.
Deputy Neal suffered minor injuries in the crash, authorities said, and no one else was seriously injured. He was treated and released from a local hospital.
Deputies continued to follow Giovino down Pasadena and west onto the Treasure Island Causeway, where a deputy did a PIT maneuver. Giovino hit another vehicle and then hit a vinyl fence at a home at 7923 Causeway Boulevard South.
Giovino's vehicle was immobilized, and he was taken into custody. He faces one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding, one count of reckless driving with property damage, one count of felony DUI, one count violation of probation DUI and one count resisting an officer without violence.
The sheriff's office said additional charges are pending from Treasure Island Police. Giovino was treated at an area hospital, then released and taken to the Pinellas County Jail.
