Cantonment Man Charged With Felony Fleeing After 3-Mile Highway 29 Pursuit

October 1, 2026

A 46-year-old Cantonment man is facing a felony charge after allegedly failing to pull over for a deputy for roughly three miles on Highway 29 early Friday morning.

Ian Jared Keatts was charged with felony fleeing and eluding police and was served with an outstanding warrant for violation of probation related to a prior DUI case.

According to an arrest report, a deputy running stationary radar at just south of Whataburger on Highway 29  clocked a black 2016 Cadillac SUV traveling northbound at 68 mph in a 45 mph zone. The deputy pulled onto Highway 29 and caught up to the vehicle just north of Kingsfield Road, activating emergency lights and sirens to conduct a traffic stop.

Instead of pulling over, the vehicle continued northbound while obeying all other traffic laws and traveling within the speed limit.

The deputy pulled alongside the Cadillac and saw the driver’s side window rolled down. Despite the deputy’s sirens and multiple commands broadcast over the patrol vehicle’s public address system instructing the driver to pull over, the vehicle continued down Highway 29. The report noted there was no other traffic on the roadway and ample opportunities to safely stop.

The vehicle eventually turned into the parking lot of the Black Diamond Club at 208 South Highway 29, approximately three miles from where the deputy first attempted to initiate the stop.

Keatts was taken into custody without incident. A background check revealed the active Escambia County warrant for violation of probation.

In addition to the felony fleeing charge, Keatts was issued a civil traffic citation for speeding. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail, where he was held without bond on the probation violation warrant.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under TOP STORIES