Boca Raton Police Chase Ends in Fentanyl Trafficking Arrest

David Devito (Photo: Palm Beach County Jail)

A local man is accused of trafficking fentanyl after he allegedly fled two traffic stops by Boca Raton police and threw bags of a substance out the window of his car during the fracas, police said.

David Devito, 37, of Boynton Beach, faces charges that include one count of trafficking in dangerous fentanyl or fentanyl analogues, two counts of fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, one count of resisting an officer without violence, one count of tampering with physical evidence and two counts of reckless driving, Boca Raton police said in documents filed in court this week.

On Aug. 10, at about 7:02 p.m., members of the Boca Raton Police Department Tactical Team conducted a traffic stop on a blue 2018 Audi A6 near 8350 N. Congress Ave., an affidavit states. The stop was based on probable cause for Devito’s arrest and because his driver’s license was suspended as of Aug. 4, according to the document. An officer in an unmarked vehicle activated emergency lights and sirens. Devito pulled to the east side of the roadway and stopped, police said.

The officer, who was wearing a department-issued vest with Boca Raton Police insignia and a polo shirt, issued verbal commands for Devito to exit the vehicle. Devito refused and then fled eastbound on Peninsula Corporate Drive, the affidavit stated. During the incident, another Boca Raton officer observed Devito throw a clear bag containing a white powdered substance from the vehicle window onto the westbound lanes of Peninsula Corporate Drive, according to the report.

Officers ultimately recovered items they say totaled 29.1 grams that field-tested positive for fentanyl with a department-issued test kit: 27.6 grams of white powdered substance in a clear plastic bag, 1 gram of white rock substance in two pieces inside a plastic bag, and 0.5 grams of brown wax substance on tin foil.

Devito is accused of trafficking under a Florida statute based on the quantity, as well as a charge of tampering with physical evidence by “discarding the material after knowing an investigation was underway,” according to the affidavit.

After Devito allegedly fled from the first stop, other members of the tactical team in unmarked vehicles followed him and later attempted a second traffic stop by activating emergency lights and sirens. Devito allegedly fled that stop as well, leading to additional charges of fleeing or attempting to elude and reckless driving, the document states.

Boynton Beach police later detained Devito at a residence in that city following a swift investigation. Devito, the report states, initially denied discarding the substances but later made statements acknowledging the material was fentanyl and that he had discarded some of it from the vehicle. A relative told police that Devito had called shortly before his detention, sounding panicked and stating that police were chasing him.

Devito was being held in the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $109,000 combined bail on 10 separate charges related to the incident.