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Man in I-Drive chase charged with first-degree murder in connection with homicide

ORLANDO, Fla. — A fugitive wanted in an Orlando homicide was caught and arrested Tuesday, police said.

Lonnie J. Tisdale III, 27, crashed on Interstate 4 after trying to flee law enforcement through the heart of the tourist district, police said.

According to an Orlando police report, Tisdale was accused of killing J.P. White II, 29, on Sept. 28.

A neighbor found White on the grass in the area of Jefferson Street and Lee Avenue, with a gunshot wound. He later died at a hospital.

An Orlando Police Department investigator saw Tisdale in a blue Kia Sportage at about 11 a.m. at a light on Church Street and Westmoreland Street. A confidential informant tipped off police about the SUV he was driving, police said.

Police said Tisdale sped away once the officer started following him. Police and Orange County deputies followed Tisdale down Orange Blossom Trail, Toll Road 408 and I-4 near Kirkman Avenue before Tisdale drove the wrong way on the interstate and crashed. %

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Once Tisdale crashed, he and his passenger, Samaria Williams, jumped out of the SUV, ran across I-4 and through the lobby of the Heart of I-Drive Hotel.

They were apprehended at the hotel on International Drive, police said.

The incident was caught on a cellphone camera by a hotel employee.

Watch the video below:

Tisdale faces charges of first-degree murder with a firearm, robbery with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Williams is also facing charges.

"You were arrested on a new charge, resisting without violence," said a judge.

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