Keys cops chase man who didn’t stop at checkpoint

A North Bay Village man remained in a Florida Keys jail Friday night after deputies say he drove through the COVID-19 checkpoint into the island chain after being ordered to turn around, leading police on a nine-mile car chase.

Glenn Samberg, 52, stopped at the checkpoint at mile marker 112.5 on the 18 Mile Stretch of U.S. 1 that was set up in late March to keep tourists out because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Only property owners and those who work in the Keys are allowed to pass through the roadblock, and Monroe County sheriff’s deputies said Samberg did not show documentation that he had a legitimate reason to pass through the checkpoint.

A deputy ordered him to turn his Toyota around and leave the Keys. Instead, Samberg told the deputy to leave him alone and drove south toward Key Largo, according to his arrest report.

Deputies at the checkpoint radioed their colleagues to be on the lookout for Samberg’s car. A deputy drove behind the Toyota at mile marker 105 with his overhead lights and siren on, but Samberg kept driving.

Another deputy laid down a strip of spikes at mile marker 103 to pop Samberg’s tires. He swerved to avoid them, but they deflated his two right tires, according to the report.

He continued to drive on two tires and two rims until finally pulling over a half-mile down the road.

On Friday night, Samberg was being held in county jail on Stock Island on a bond of $65,000. He faces a felony count of fleeing and eluding police, and a misdemeanor count of violating a state-of-emergency order for going through the checkpoint.