Yesterday morning, deputies attempted to stop a Ford Fusion displaying a fictitious license plate. The driver, Lablunta Plonton, failed to stop and led deputies on a brief pursuit.

Plonton traveled eastbound on Highway 74, driving erratically and at times driving on the wrong side of the road. He then turned onto Walkup Avenue, continuing through multiple side streets in an attempt to evade law enforcement.

Officers with the Monroe Police Department deployed stop sticks, successfully deflating the vehicle’s tires. The pursuit continued onto Ashcraft Avenue, where the vehicle began to slow down. Plonton then jumped from the moving vehicle, causing the paperwork from Gaston County Detention Center to fall out of his hands.

During the foot pursuit, Plonton jumped a fence topped with razor wire. Deputies deployed a drone and well as K9 units, but initial efforts to locate him were unsuccessful.

Later, MPD officers stopped another vehicle for an expired registration tag and found Plonton in the passenger seat. Officers observed deep lacerations consistent with razor wire injuries. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Plonton was later taken to the Union County Detention Center and charged with felony flee to elude arrest, reckless driving, traveling the wrong way on a dual-lane highway, resist/delay/obstruct, fictitious/expired registration plate, and failure to stop for a steady red light. A judicial official set a $15,000 secured bond, which he has since met, and he is no longer in custody.