Fugitive FL Couple Arrested In Michigan: North Port Police

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — A Florida couple on the run from the law in Sarasota County was tracked down and arrested in Michigan, authorities said.

The North Port Police department’s special enforcement team (SET) tried to pull over Zachary Carpenter and his girlfriend, Nichole Williams, who was a passenger, on May 31, the agency shared Thursday on its Facebook page. They ran from the scene by foot, abandoning the car.

The vehicle was recovered by police, who found methamphetamine packaged for sales, drug paraphernalia and ammunition, as well as identification belonging to Carpenter and Williams, inside the car.

Williams currently has open arrest warrants for violation of probation – armed burglary and theft of a firearm, the agency said.

Both are also wanted by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office after they dropped a backpack with nearly a pound of meth in it at Walmart in Venice, North Port police added.

The couple is known to flee law enforcement and were on the run since that traffic stop, police said. Members of the SET, working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, tracked them down to Mason, Michigan, where they were hiding out.

The Michigan State Police Fugitive Apprehension Unit was called in to assist with their arrest at a local motel in that area. Both Carpenter and Williams are awaiting extradition back to Sarasota County for their crime spree, North Port police said.

Carpenter is being charged with trafficking in methamphetamine over 200 grams, fleeing to elude law enforcement, possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, possession of a firearm/ammunition by a convicted felon and driving on a suspended driver’s license.

Williams is being charged with violation of probation - armed burglary, theft of a firearm and possession of a firearm by felon. She is also charged with trafficking in methamphetamine over 200 grams.