Dramatic Patrol Car Escape Leads To Three New Charges

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

HOUSTON COUNTY — A video released by the Houston County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) over the weekend showing a handcuffed man breaking out of a patrol vehicle and briefly fleeing on foot quickly went viral on social media.

The man was identified as Keon Dewayne Leonard, who was initially arrested Sept. 3 on an outstanding second-degree felony warrant for assault of a peace officer or judge.

According to the video released by HCSO, deputies went to the 1000 block of State Highway 7 West to serve the warrant. Leonard attempted to flee from a residence but was taken into custody after a brief chase.

The HCSO statement said Leonard is approximately six feet, seven inches tall and weighs 260 pounds. Because of his size and the struggle involved in handcuffing him, deputies used two sets of handcuffs.

Houston County Sheriff Zak Benge said Leonard did not willingly submit to the arrest.

“There was a little bit of a struggle,” Benge said. “It wasn’t a full-blown fight, but he wasn’t willingly letting himself be handcuffed to go to jail the first time.”

Leonard was placed in the rear of a patrol vehicle with his hands cuffed behind him. Benge said Leonard was eventually able to move the handcuffs to the front of his body, allowing him to use his hands and legs against the vehicle’s security partition and rear door.

“At some point, he ended up getting the handcuffs from behind him to in front of him,” Benge said. “That’s what allowed him to then use his hands on the cage and generate enough force” to escape.

The video shows Leonard forcing his way out of the rear portion of the vehicle. The damaged patrol unit is later shown with debris scattered across the rear seat and floor.

Benge said the video can make the incident appear to have lasted much longer than it actually did.

“On the video that you watch, it looks like she’s driving 30 miles down the highway,” Benge said. “In reality, that entire episode was probably a half a mile or so from the time she backed out and he started kicking until she could find a place to try to safely get over.”

Benge said Deputy Jennifer Cruz was driving the patrol vehicle and was the first officer to pursue Leonard after he escaped.

“She was the one driving,” Benge said. “She was the one that was first on the ground, and she ran him down in the woods.”

Benge said Leonard ran into the woods after exiting the patrol vehicle. When he turned toward Cruz, she deployed her Taser.

“He turned to confront her, and she hit him with a Taser,” Benge said. “That brought him into compliance again.”

Other deputies arrived and helped place Leonard back into custody. Benge said approximately three vehicles and four officers had gone to the residence to serve the warrant.

The sheriff said Cruz made a decision to move the vehicle to a safer location rather than stop in the middle of a busy highway while Leonard was actively trying to escape.

“We can’t stop in the middle of a busy highway,” Benge said. “If we stop and chase him out in front of an 18-wheeler and he gets run over, we’re the ones that have to answer that lawsuit and answer that investigation.”

He said Cruz found the safest location she could to slow down and pull off the road before Leonard escaped into the woods.

Following his recapture, Leonard was placed in another patrol vehicle and transported to the Houston County Jail. Benge said he believes leg irons were used during the second transport.

Leonard did not suffer injuries during the incident, Benge said. The patrol unit, however, sustained damage to the rear door and surrounding area.

“All it cost us was the Taser cartridge,” Benge said. “It’s going to cost us about $4,500 to replace and fix the rear door, but we’ve got insurance for that purpose.”

The sheriff said the vehicle was being repaired so it could return to patrol service.

Booking records list three additional charges against Leonard: escape while arrested or confined, a third-degree felony; criminal mischief, a third-degree felony; and evading arrest or detention, a Class A misdemeanor.

Benge said the new charges carried a combined $40,000 in bonds. He said the original second-degree felony warrant was a no-bond warrant and that Leonard remained in the Houston County Jail pending further court action.

Benge also praised Cruz for pursuing Leonard despite the significant difference in their sizes. He estimated Cruz to be approximately five feet, five inches tall and 130 pounds, while Leonard is listed at six feet, seven inches and at least 260 pounds.

“She didn’t hesitate to run after a man who was big,” Benge said. “We’re proud of her for not getting hurt and getting the situation under control.”

Cruz’s law-enforcement career began in the HCSO dispatch office, where she worked for one or two years before putting herself through the police academy.

“She graduated at the top of her class, and we hired her,” Benge said. “She started as a deputy in the beginning 2025.”

Benge said Cruz has continued to grow as an officer and that the department regularly receives compliments about the way she handles difficult situations.

“Deputy Cruz has got some grit,” Benge said. “She had some struggles in her life, and she has pulled herself up by her bootstraps. She’s done well for herself. We’re proud to have her.”

The HCSO video ends by reminding viewers that Leonard is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]