POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Monday afternoon pursuit across Polk County ended in a messy crash and a foot race through a cow pasture after two men allegedly tried to outrun multiple law enforcement agencies.
The incident began around noon on February 9, 2026, when Lake Wales Police spotted a black Nissan Rogue that had previously fled from an Auburndale traffic stop. When officers attempted to pull the vehicle over, the driver sped away again.
Rather than engaging in a high-speed ground chase through busy streets, authorities backed off and let the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Aviation unit take the lead from the sky. The helicopter tracked the Nissan as it wove through southeast Winter Haven, eventually turning onto Eloise Oak Drive. Unbeknownst to the driver, the road was a dead end.
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Patrol units moved in to block the only exit. Realizing he was trapped, the driver threw the Nissan into reverse at high speed but lost control of the vehicle. The car clipped two mailboxes before slamming into a palm tree. With the car disabled, two men jumped out and hopped a nearby fence, damaging it in the process, before running into an active cattle pasture.
Deputies quickly swarmed the field and took both men into custody. The driver was identified as 23-year-old Donald Gatlin III, and the passenger as 23-year-old Alarion Herring, both residents of Lake Wales. A search of the scene and the vehicle turned up several bags of marijuana and approximately $1,600 in cash.
Gatlin faces a long list of charges, including fleeing and eluding, driving with a suspended license, leaving the scene of a crash, and trespassing on farm land. Herring faces similar charges related to the burglary and the foot pursuit.
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Both men are also facing charges for breaking a fence that contained livestock. Local authorities noted that additional drug charges are expected from the Sheriff’s Office, and more charges are pending from the Lake Wales Police Department.
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