Florida man attempts to escape deputies on a riding lawnmower

Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office

HOLT, Florida — Perhaps this Florida man thought using a riding mower was a good shortcut to get away from deputies.

It didn’t work. Dusty Mobley’s attempt to flee deputies with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office on a John Deere riding lawnmower came to a quick end Saturday morning when he was tased and taken into custody, according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office says this isn’t the first time the 40-year-old Mobley has taken unique measures to try to escape from deputies attempting to serve him a warrant in connection with a stolen $40,000 boat. In January, he was able to elude capture when he jumped off the the boat and into a swamp, the sheriff’s office says.

Mobley is accused of using heavy machinery to cut a hole in a metal building to steal the boat from a business in Baker, Fla., on Jan. 1. He is charged with grand theft, grand theft of a vehicle, felony criminal mischief, two counts of resisting an officer, possession of a concealed weapon by a felon, carrying a concealed handcuff key, possession of drug paraphernalia, and felony failure to appear.

When taken into custody Saturday, Mobley had a revolver and a handcuff key in his possession, the sheriff’s office says, along with a pipe with methamphetamine residue.

Mobley is being held without bond at the Okaloosa County Jail.