Today Staff Report
ALACHUA COUNTY – A 23-year-old woman was arrested Monday after leading Alachua County deputies and Alachua police officers on an alleged reckless, multi-stage pursuit that authorities say endangered numerous motorists and construction workers before ending with the use of containment tactics and pepper spray. As of press time, she remained hospitalized and had not yet been booked into the Alachua County Jail.
According to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began Monday, July 20, 2026, when Deputy Sheriff Matthew Davis, a member of the agency’s Domestic Highway Enforcement Task Force, was patrolling Southwest Archer Road. A motorist, later identified as Mauricio Restrepo, flagged down the deputy and reported that his girlfriend, later identified as Jennifer Caren Dotzler, was driving erratically and had cut off other vehicles on U.S. Highway 441 and Interstate 75 after what he described as acting oddly the night before.
Dotzler, 23, of unincorporated Alachua County, was operating a gray Nissan SUV.
Davis observed the SUV enter northbound Interstate 75 from Southwest Archer Road. According to the arrest report, the vehicle followed another car at an unsafe distance and failed to signal two lane changes, one of which affected a semi-truck’s travel. Based on those violations, Davis initiated a traffic stop near mile marker 385 using his emergency equipment.
The report states Dotzler did not stop and instead changed lanes repeatedly, drifted onto the shoulder multiple times and maintained speeds near 65 mph while failing to yield to activated lights and sirens. After passing exit 387, additional violations were reported to dispatch. Dotzler briefly slowed near mile marker 389 before accelerating away again and exiting the interstate at mile marker 390 into the eastbound lanes. Citing increased danger to the public, Davis terminated the pursuit at that point, though the fleeing charge remained outstanding.
Shortly afterward, Davis located Dotzler stopped at a red light and positioned his marked patrol vehicle beside hers with lights and sirens activated, issuing verbal and public address commands. The report states Dotzler looked at the deputy but did not comply, driving away once the light turned green.
Investigators later learned from Restrepo that Dotzler had reportedly been using narcotics for multiple days and continued to drive erratically after separating from deputies.
Dotzler was subsequently located exiting Interstate 75 onto N.W. U.S. Highway 441 in Alachua, where deputies, including Deputy Moore, and two Alachua Police Department officers attempted another traffic stop. According to the report, Dotzler again failed to stop, forcing multiple drivers off the road as she moved between lanes. An attempted containment maneuver near the intersection of 235A was unsuccessful after Dotzler drove through a grassed median, an area the report notes was an active construction zone, to continue fleeing around Deputy Moore.
Davis became the lead vehicle in the pursuit, which reached speeds of 67 mph as Dotzler continued swerving between lanes. Near Northwest 188th Street, the SUV briefly stopped before attempting to flee again. Davis used his vehicle’s push bumper to make contact with the SUV’s front driver’s side fender as other deputies and officers moved in to box the vehicle in.
Once contained, the report states Dotzler refused to exit despite repeated verbal and public address commands, shaking her head and turning up her music while accelerating into the surrounding law enforcement vehicles. Deputies then approached the SUV and deployed oleoresin capsicum spray, commonly known as pepper spray, inside the vehicle. Dotzler exited and was taken into custody.
According to the report, Dotzler told deputies she intended to drive to her house before stopping, despite acknowledging she was required to stop for emergency lights, and stated she had done nothing wrong. Deputies noted her eyes were bloodshot and watery and that she exhibited slowed, slurred and mumbled speech.
Dotzler was charged with fleeing and eluding law enforcement with lights and sirens activated, a felony; fleeing and eluding law enforcement with disregard for public safety, a felony; and resisting an officer without violence, a misdemeanor. Bond on the three charges was initially set at a combined $330,000, but that appears to have been suspended pending a subsequent first appearance hearing.
Dotzler was transported to the hospital following her arrest and, as of press time, had not yet been booked into the Alachua County Jail. She has been ordered to appear for a first appearance hearing upon her release from the hospital.
The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office released body camera and dash camera footage of the incident.
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