'Gonna Have To Catch Me' Suspect Shouts Before Running Away: Sheriff

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — A 35-year-old man who tried to flee from a Stafford County Sheriff's deputy Monday afternoon after causing a disturbance at Waffle House is facing multiple charges, according to authorities.

A deputy responded around 1:08 p.m. to the Waffle House at 42 Civilian St. in the Fredericksburg area for the report of a disturbance. The deputy determined that a man who appeared to be intoxicated was talking inappropriately to female employees, according to the incident report.

As the deputy investigated the case, a fire marshal reported a man matching the suspect's description carrying a case of beer and consuming a can as he was walking on was on Celebrate Virginia Parkway, according to the incident report.

When the deputy and the fire marshal tried to make contact with the man, they noticed he appeared to be intoxicated, according to the report. As they got closer, the man shouted, “You’re gonna have to catch me,” before running off.

The deputy and fire marshal chased the suspect toward Banks Ford Parkway and into the middel of Warrenton Road, where the detained him, according to the sheriff's office.

The suspect, identified as David Owens, said he had been "drinking all night" and only rant to give law enformcement "a hard time," the report says.

After Owens was arrested and charged with public intoxication and fleeing from law enforcement, he was held at the Rappahannock Regional Jail on a $2,000 secured bond.

Owens was scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday morning in Stafford General District Court and has a preliminary hearing on Sept. 17, according to court records.

The fleeing from law enforcement and public intoxication charges are Class 1 and Class 4 misdemeanors, respectively, according to the Code of Virginia. If found guilty on the first charge, which is the more serious, Owner faces a potential penalty of 12 months in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500.