Drag racing lands two Naples men a trip to jail, deputies say

Drag racing is against the law in Florida, and it's especially not a good idea to do so in front of a cop.

Two Naples men each face a charge of participating in an unlawful race — a misdemeanor — after a Collier County sheriff's deputy says he witnessed them drag racing in North Naples on Saturday night.

The deputy said in an arrest report that he was waiting at a red light at Goodlette-Frank Road, facing west along Vanderbilt Beach Road shortly after 10 p.m. 

The deputy said he heard engines revving and, when the light turned green, two cars screeched tires and accelerated rapidly heading west on Vanderbilt Beach Road, the report says.

The deputy said he made a U-turn, activated the patrol cruiser's lights and siren "as the vehicles were neck and neck, traveling eastbound, accelerating at a high rate through the intersection," the report reads. He alerted other deputies in the area and called for a sheriff's helicopter, which headed to the scene.

Reece A. Rymer, 20, who was driving a white Maserati, came to a stop at Vanderbilt Beach Road and Stacil Circle, less than a mile from Goodlette-Frank. When the deputy asked him how he was, Rymer replied: "That wasn't me. He's got a loud car man I swear I wasn't drag racing."

The helicopter hovered above a black Cadillac that belonged to Matthew J. Norris, 36, who had pulled over at Vanderbilt Beach Road and Bay Laurel Drive. When the deputy asked Norris what had happened, Norris replied: "Playing around," the report states.

Both drivers have driving histories that include traffic infractions, especially Rymer, the report says. The 20-year-old was guilty of four driving offenses since 2015 and has received nine warnings including five unlawful speed warnings.

Norris has received two warnings (disregarding a red light and careless driving) and was guilty of DUI in 2012, the report states.