Driver accused of fleeing, crashing stolen car, hitting police dog in East Naples

A Fort Lauderdale man was arrested Monday after he led them on a chase in a stolen car, crashed into a used car lot and then hit a police dog on the head several times while fleeing on foot, deputies said.

John Simecek, 50, faces felony charges of auto theft, fleeing and eluding law enforcement officers in marked units with emergency equipment activated, aggravated fleeing and eluding, possession of cocaine and driving with a suspended license as a habitual offender, according to a Collier County Sheriff's Office arrest report. 

Simecek also faces misdemeanor charges of resisting law enforcement officers without violence, possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, the report states. He also is named in an active arrest warrant from Broward County alleging resisting police with violence, deputies wrote.

Simecek was booked at the Naples Jail Center, where he was held Tuesday evening with no bail due to the Broward warrant. Bail for his local charges totals $31,000.

After receiving information from Naples police about a stolen Volkswagen traveling east on Golden Gate Parkway, deputies saw a car matching the description at a gas station on the west side of Airport-Pulling Road across from Mercantile Avenue about 6 p.m., the report states.

Deputies followed the car and tried to initiate a traffic stop once they verified the car's registration number in a parking lot.

But when deputies activated their emergency lights, the Volkswagen quickly pulled out of the parking lot and onto Horseshoe Drive North, deputies wrote. 

The Volkswagen ran a red light at Airport-Pulling Road and traveled south on Airport-Pulling Road South, reaching 90 mph before turning right to head west on Estey Avenue, the report states.

The Volkswagen driver then lost control and continued southwest into a used car parking lot. The car broke through concrete barrier poles, headed over some bushes and collided head-on with a blue Chevy pickup in the sales lot, deputies wrote.

Once the car stopped, Simecek got out and fled on foot across the parking lot and Airport-Pulling Road lanes while a Sheriff's Office dog gave chase, the report states.

When the dog "came within reaching distance" of Simecek, he "began to strike" the animal "several times on his head" before being apprehended by the K-9 at the median of Airport-Pulling Road South, deputies said.

When he was handcuffed, deputies found Simecek to be holding a brown napkin containing a green leafy substance "consistent with that of marijuana," the report states.

In the Volkswagen, deputies found a large clear plastic bag containing a "white powdery substance" and a small clear plastic bag with a similar substance, according to the report.

Deputies stated they confirmed the Volkswagen was stolen in Fort Lauderdale.

Simecek had several warrants for his arrest from Indiana, Massachusetts and Florida, deputies wrote.

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