The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Big Coppitt Key man after he knocked out his girlfriend, wrecked his truck and swam through a canal in an attempt to escape.
The incident began when the MCSO put out a call to find a reckless driver, but the call was quickly updated to a crash. Paul Wilson Jr., 49, reportedly crashed his truck into a fence and some trees before running through a yard and then into a canal, where he swam to the other side.
According to MCSO, deputies found Wilson hiding under a boat on a trailer and arrested him at gunpoint. Wilson told deputies that he ran from the scene of the crash because he was drunk. While questioning Wilson, deputies discovered that Wilson had perpetrated a domestic battery immediately prior to crashing his vehicle.
The victim of the domestic battery reported that Wilson became aggressive with her, although the report doesn’t clarify why. The victim said she was unable to calm Wilson down, and then she suddenly woke up on the floor with blood on the back of her head. She was unsure what she was hit with, but she was ultimately transported to the hospital for stitches.
As deputies transported Wilson to the Monroe County Detention Center, Wilson began to threaten both deputies and the victim. He threatened to kill the victim as soon as he got out of jail. Once in jail, Wilson continued to be uncooperative and threatening, going so far as to claim he has killed people. Furthermore, he continuously used racial slurs to describe the victim and other people in the prison. After a deputy told Wilson that his behavior was uncalled for, Wilson attempted to bite him, albeit unsuccessfully.
Wilson is being charged with leaving a scene of a crash, DUI, aggravated battery, resisting an officer without violence and obstruction of justice.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
If you have information that could help solve a crime in the Florida Keys, call Crime Stoppers, 800-346-TIPS.