Tesla driver accused of dragging an officer in Northeast Philly now in custody

A 20-year-old man who allegedly dragged an officer more than 200 feet with a Tesla before speeding away in Northeast Philadelphia turned himself in late Tuesday night, police said.

Eddy Brito-Almonte, of Feltonville, surrendered to police around 11:10 p.m. Tuesday and was charged with aggravated assault, illegal gun possession, resisting arrest, and related offenses, police said Wednesday. Bail was set at $300,000, court records show.

The Tesla was located unoccupied around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday on the 2400 block of North 7th Street in North Philadelphia, said Capt. Jack Ryan, commanding officer of the Northeast Detective Division. An arrest warrant was issued for Brito-Almonte later that day.

Just after 9:40 p.m. Monday at Cheltenham Avenue and Charles Street, a highway patrol officer and his partner were conducting a routine traffic stop of the Tesla when the officer noticed a gun on the floor under the male driver, said Chief Inspector Scott Small.

With the driver-side door already open, the officer tried to grab the gun when the driver sped off in reverse, “at least 100 feet, probably more … and the officer was holding on for his life,” Small said.

Then the driver, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, shifted gears and sped forward around 100 feet before he physically kicked the officer off the vehicle and fled eastbound on Cheltenham, Small said.

Medics transported the officer to Jefferson Frankford Hospital with scrapes and bruises to his ribs and legs, Small said.

The officer, who has been on the force more than nine years, was treated, released, and was recuperating at home on Tuesday, Ryan said.