LAKELAND, Fla. – A Lakeland private school administrator faces multiple felony charges following a traffic stop on Interstate 4 Saturday afternoon, authorities said.
Dominique Lasahy DeVeaux, 36, the Assistant Head of School at Academy Prep of Lakeland, was arrested around 1:09 p.m. on July 11, 2026. A Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped her gray Chevrolet Traverse on westbound I-4 near Polk City after determining she was operating the vehicle without a valid driver’s license.
According to agency records, DeVeaux’s license was revoked for five years on November 26, 2024, after she was designated a habitual traffic offender. Her license was subsequently suspended three times in 2025—in March, June, and August—for failing to pay traffic citations, and it was canceled indefinitely on May 3, 2025. Records also show she has seven unpaid traffic citations in Orange County.
Investigators stated that DeVeaux initially refused two orders to exit her vehicle before complying on the third request. When the deputy attempted to place her in handcuffs, DeVeaux physically resisted, turned, and struck the deputy’s hand to break free from his grasp.
A man and a young child were passengers in the vehicle during the encounter.
“Throwing a tantrum on the side of an interstate and physically striking a deputy is way out of line,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. “It is especially unacceptable for someone who by profession is responsible for so many children. She is supposed to be a role model… not for just her students, but also the young child in the vehicle with her.”
DeVeaux was transported to the Sheriff’s Processing Center. She has been charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and driving while license suspended or revoked as a habitual offender, which are all third-degree felonies. She also faces a misdemeanor charge of resisting an officer without violence.
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