ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A St. Petersburg man was arrested early Saturday morning after driving over 100 mph on the Gandy Bridge into Hillsborough County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
An FHP incident report said at around 1:20 a.m., an FHP trooper and Pinellas County deputies were completing a service call when Mario Renard Stephens, 38, allegedly sped past them on the “hump” in Hillsborough County at what appeared to be over 100 mph.
The trooper who wrote the report said they left the scene of the previous incident to follow Stephens. According to the trooper’s radar, the vehicle was heading 105 mph.
“I continued to attempt to overtake the Nissan as it cleared the bridge onto land,” the trooper wrote. “The Nissan took the lower route into Tampa, and quickly overtook normal speed traffic.”
The trooper eventually caught Stephens on Westshore Boulevard and conducted a traffic stop, arresting him on a reckless driving charge.
A search of the vehicle found “a loaded firearm, several different drugs, and several items of drug paraphernalia,” according to the report.
As a result, Stephens was also charged with possession of firearm by a felon. Drug charges are pending.
