Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Carson Noah Kirchman, 30, was arrested early this morning on drug and other charges after allegedly crashing his car into a tree while fleeing a traffic stop.

At about 2:22 a.m. on January 26, a Gainesville Police Department officer saw a vehicle run a red light at the intersection of S. Main Street and SE 4th Avenue, nearly causing a crash with a marked patrol vehicle. An officer attempted a traffic stop on the vehicle, which continued driving east on SE 2nd Avenue and briefly slowed before rapidly accelerating away. The vehicle turned south on SE 3rd Street, where the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a large tree.

After the crash, the driver reportedly got out and started running west along SE 2nd Place, with the officer chasing and yelling commands to stop until the man tripped and fell.

The officer caught up to the driver, later identified as Kirchman, and told him to place his hands behind his back, but Kirchman allegedly kept trying to stand up and get away; he allegedly grabbed the officer’s hands and pulled the officer’s watch off. He allegedly continued trying to get away until additional officers arrived.

A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a 10-gram container of a white crystalline substance that was physically consistent with methamphetamine but did not react to the available test kit and has not yet been identified; he also had THC dark chocolates in retail packaging and a small bag of marijuana, for a total of 33 grams of marijuana.

Kirchman reportedly said the vehicle belonged to him; a search of the vehicle reportedly produced a 635-gram bottle of nitrous oxide, commonly referred to as “galaxy gas” and used for “huffing.”

Kirchman was medically cleared and transported to the hospital.

Kirchman has been charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of nitrous oxide with intent to sell, fleeing law enforcement with lights and sirens active, leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage, and resisting an officer without violence. He has two felony convictions and two misdemeanor convictions, including a DUI conviction. He has served two state prison sentences and was released in April 2024 after serving a 10-year sentence for attempted home invasion robbery. Judge James Colaw set bail at $155,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.