Boca Raton Man, Wanted for Reckless Driving, Accused of Fleeing Cops in Delray Beach

Nicholas Maida (Photo: Palm Beach County Jail)

A Boca Raton man who was wanted by police in his hometown for reckless driving showed up near a busy Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach and fled from officers, causing them temporarily disengage in order to avoid a danger to the public, court documents said.

Nicholas Maida, 39, was spotted by a Delray Beach police officer driving his silver Chrysler near the intersection of SE 6th Avenue and SE 1st Street on Sunday night, Dec. 7 at 11:52 p.m., a police report said. The officer recognized the vehicle after Boca Raton police had issued a “be on the lookout” call for the vehicle, whose operator was suspected of reckless driving. The driver, later identified as Maida, was seen speaking to other officers through his car window when another officer noticed the vehicle was the subject of the Boca Raton BOLO.

The officer briefly spoke with Maida, who was “showing signs of paranoia” and stating that people who appeared to be police officers were following him, the report said. When he was told to turn his vehicle off, he instead allegedly fled the scene toward the heart of the busy Atlantic Avenue business district, causing the Delray Beach officers to turn off their lights and follow from a distance so he would be less likely to cause an accident. The vehicle was observed traveling westbound on Atlantic Avenue and eventually illegally passed a vehicle while traversing the Brightline railroad tracks, then stopped in the middle of the road.

After the vehicle stopped, according to the report, police were able to keep the vehicle from moving again and arrested Maida on charges of fleeing and eluding police officers.

On Tuesday, Maida remained lodged in the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $12,000 bond.