Wanted Holt man attempts getaway on riding lawnmower, deputies say

OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. — A Holt man put a John Deere riding lawnmower into high gear and tried to outrun pursuing deputies, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) has reported.

According to the OCSO, Dusty Mobley, 40, was tased by deputies chasing him while he tried to make a getaway on the lawnmower around 9:30 Saturday morning at a home on Pasco Broxson Circle.

Mobley, who allegedly jumped into a swamp to avoid OCSO deputies trying to serve him warrants last January, was not as successful this past weekend, the OCSO said.

When taken into custody, Mobley reportedly had a revolver and a handcuff key in his possession, along with a pipe with methamphetamine residue.

Mobley got away from OCSO deputies off Sparrow Road in Holt on January 3 by diving into a swamp along the Yellow River after lawmen tried to talk to him about a $40,000 stolen boat, according to the OCSO.

Mobley was allegedly on the boat when deputies arrived at the scene but dove off the side and disappeared into the swamp to avoid going to jail, the OCSO said.

Investigators say Mobley had used heavy machinery, cutting a hole in a metal building, to steal the vessel from a business off Highway 4 in Baker on January 1, 2022.

Mobley’s current charges include grand theft, grand theft of a vehicle, felony criminal mischief, two counts of resisting an officer, possession of a concealed weapon by a felon, carrying a concealed handcuff key, possession of drug paraphernalia, and felony failure to appear among others, the OCSO said.

Mobley is being held without bond at the Okaloosa County Jail in Crestview.