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Austin Daniel Cox
An Orange Park man fleeing from Clay County law enforcement reached the end of the line in Bardin on Sunday after crashing into a cattle gate and fence, according to Putnam County officials.
Deputies from Putnam and Clay counties arrested Austin Daniel Cox, 25, and charged him with nine felonies, jail records state. Cox was booked into the Putnam County Jail early Monday morning, where he remained as of Tuesday afternoon. Cox’s bail was set at $84,500, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office stated in a social media post.
The suspect was charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer or emergency medical technician, two counts of drug trafficking, five weapons-related offenses and property damage, the jail log shows.
Charges of a stolen vehicle, fleeing law enforcement and other charges not specified will be pursued by the Clay County Sheriff's Office, according to the social media post.
Deputies from Clay County started pursuing Cox on Sunday night when he was allegedly driving a stolen vehicle and had attempted to hit a Clay County deputy, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook post. Cox then headed into Putnam County and eventually drove onto Bardin Road before turning onto Johns Road and plowing into a cattle gate and fence, the sheriff’s office stated.
“As patrol vehicles closed in, Cox put the stolen truck in reverse and rammed a Clay County patrol vehicle,” according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. “In one last dash to evade capture, Cox drove into a marshy area, jumped out of the vehicle and attempted to hide in the heavy foliage, covering himself in mud.”
With the help of a Clay County K9 deputy, law enforcement officials located Cox and found him trafficking methamphetamine and possessing a single-barrel, sawed-off shotgun, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office stated. Cox is reportedly a convicted felon who was released from prison in 2021.
“Just a friendly reminder to those city-dwelling criminals, just cuz you stole a truck, don't mean you know how to mud bog in Bardin,” the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office wrote in its social media post.