The Volusia Sheriff's Office had to break out the stop sticks on Saturday, when they arrested 29-year-old Kevin Olivo Rivera on a litany of charges in Deltona. He reportedly reached speeds of well over 100 miles per hour as he was fleeing deputies, according to a report from the Volusia Sheriff's Office.
The statement didn't say why Olivo Rivera was initially identified by deputies, only that the arrest came as part of a three-day traffic operation in Deltona. He was said to be driving a rented BMW X3, which he allegedly used to attempt to flee pursuing deputies on I-4.
A deputy positioned on an overpass over I-4 prepared a strip of stop sticks, a tool used by law enforcement to disable the tires on a fleeing vehicle without using a more dangerous technique such as the PIT maneuver. The sticks were deployed from Orange Camp Road, shortly after Olivo Rivera was reportedly clocked at 113 miles per hour.
The sticks were successful in disabling the BMW, causing two of its tires to go flat. Though he reportedly tried to keep driving, Olivo Rivera is said to have exited the car and thrown a handgun into the woods on the side of the road. Upon a search of his vehicle, deputies recovered cocaine, oxycodone, MDMA, alprazolam, and marijuana. They also recovered the discarded handgun, along with 165 rounds of ammunition.
For his alleged crimes, Olivo Rivera was charged with aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude, multiple counts of armed drug trafficking, possession or marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting an officer without violence, evidence tampering, driving with a suspended license, and multiple traffic citations.
