Press Release Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office
September 30, 2025 – Punta Gorda, FL
A man known for fleeing from law enforcement in vehicles opted not to run on foot from a K9 deputy.
A Punta Gorda man, identified as Richard Howard Schumacher (1/27/1990), fled from Charlotte County deputies on two separate occasions in September: on the 14th in a pickup truck and on the 27th on a motorcycle. Schumacher does not have a valid driver’s license, nor does he have a motorcycle endorsement. In each case, Schumacher ignored the emergency lights and sirens of the deputies and fled at a high rate of speed, disregarding stop signs and traffic lights.
Schumacher’s running of the red light forced multiple vehicles to brake abruptly to avoid a collision. Out of concern for the safety of the public, the deputies in both incidents advised dispatch that they were canceling their respective traffic stop attempts.
On September 29, just before 2pm, a member of the K9 unit and his K9 partner entered the homeless camp where Schumacher was believed to be. There, they located Schumacher sitting in a chair inside a tent and commanded him to come out and give himself up. Schumacher complied and was taken into custody without incident.
“I want to thank my deputies for their appropriate handling of these cases, making sure our community doesn’t get put in harm’s way because of one person’s dangerous decisions. The result is the same, just now with more charges. At least he made one smart choice – not to try to outrun one of our K9s!”
Sheriff Bill Prummell
