WILMINGTON, N.C. – A man with a warrant for his arrest tried to evade North Carolina police by jumping into a lake. Once he was in the water and tried to swim away, he ended up begging officers to rescue him from drowning, according to the Wilmington Police Department.
The incident took place about 12:30 p.m. on Saturday in Wilmington’s 100-acre Greenfield Lake, which is unsafe for swimming due to an “increasing numbers of alligators,” Aol.com reported.
Officers were serving an arrest warrant on Daekwon Pearce, 27, of Rocky Point, when he took off running, police said in a news release. A police helicopter SABLE was dispatched to assist looking for the man who fled from officers.
“He was located shortly after running near Greenfield Lake and … and attempted to swim across the lake but was not able to make it,” police said.
“As officers were preparing to enter the lake, the suspect began to drown and called for help.”
“SABLE was able to hover at a low altitude and deployed a life vest for the suspect. One of the officers jumped in the lake and safely brought him back to the shore,” according to police.
The suspect was treated at the scene by medics, then taken to a nearby hospital for undisclosed reasons prior to getting medically cleared.
Pearce was subsequently booked at the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center on the warrant for criminal threats and the new charge of resist, delay, and obstruct officers.
