NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A man with an outstanding warrant was arrested Thursday after Metro Nashville police said he tried to evade them in a car with flattened tires, before bailing out of the vehicle and running away.

Eric Jenkins, 32, is being charged with felony evading arrest with risk of injury, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, trespassing, driving on a revoked license, improper plates and felony probation violation.

According to an arrest affidavit, officers first spotted Jenkins asleep inside the vehicle around 5 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5 while they were patrolling the area of West Trinity Lane and Hampton Street. He was parked at a hotel on Hampton Street with an active trespass waiver on file.

Police said they also noticed the license plate on the vehicle was registered to a different car. When they awakened Jenkins, he reportedly refused to give them his identification. Officers then confirmed with hotel management that Jenkins was not welcome to sleep in the parking lot.

In the affidavit, police noted that Jenkins was acting like he was going to turn the vehicle on while they were talking to him. Officers said he kept touching the car keys, grabbing the steering wheel, sitting up in his seat and looking for a clear path to drive out of the parking lot.

Spike strips were deployed in front of the vehicle as a precaution. However, authorities said Jenkins did eventually turn the car on and drive away. As he was doing so, he ran over the spike strips, which disabled all four of the vehicle’s tires.

Police chased Jenkins as he continued to drive from the hotel to Fesslers Lane and onto the I-40 West entrance ramp, where he reportedly got out of the car and ran away. Officers ran after Jenkins, and he was taken into custody.

During the pursuit, authorities said Jenkins caused a “risk of injury” to other drivers on the interstate. After his arrest, police found a yellow plastic bag containing 34.9 grams of marijuana inside Jenkins’ front pocket, according to the affidavit.

Officers also reported that they found a digital scale and a box of plastic bags inside the vehicle. Jenkins reportedly had a revoked license and an outstanding warrant for felony probation violation at the time of his arrest.

According to court documents, Jenkins has previously been convicted of several driving offenses and has been indicted on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon dating back to 2021.