Man Arrested in Clearwater Crossing Guard’s Death Faces New Charges

CLEARWATER, FL — The 31-year-old man out on bond following the 2014 death of Clearwater school crossing guard Doug Carey, 70, faces more charges following an incident in St. Petersburg Friday night.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, deputies spotted a 2017 Buick Regal with windows that were illegally tinted around 9:50 p.m. Oct. 28. A traffic stop was initiated on the vehicle in the area of 22nd Avenue South and 31st Street South. The vehicle, however, “fled at a high rate of speed,” an email from the agency said.

Deputies opted against pursuing the Buick, but dropped stop sticks instead. One of the car’s tires deflated, the agency noted, but the car continued on its way.

See also: Clearwater to Honor Crossing Guard’s Memory

The driver was spotted trying to flee the disabled Buick in the 3000 block of Freemont Terrace South, the sheriff’s office said. “After a brief foot pursuit,” Julious Johnson was brought into custody.

Johnson told deputies he fled because he didn’t have a valid driver’s license, the email said. Deputies also happened to find 33 grams of crack cocaine inside the Buick.

Johnson was charged with fleeing and eluding, driving on a suspended or revoked license and trafficking in cocaine. At the time of his arrest, Johnson was out of jail on $360,000 bond after being charged with vehicular homicide in connection with Carey’s death at the intersection of Gulf to Bay Boulevard and Belcher Road on May 20, 2014.

Carey was a former Clearwater Police officer who worked as a crossing guard in his retirement years. Skycrest Elementary School students in 2015 and 2016 honored Carey’s memory by placing wreaths at the crash scene and at the corner of Cleveland Street and Corona Avenue on the anniversary of his death.

Johnson was booked into the Pinellas County Jail following his Friday arrest.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office