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Three Arrested After Deputy Sees Suspects Pointing Rifle At Car
POSTED: 6:42 am EDT July 3,
2008
UPDATED: 1:02 pm EDT July 3,
2008
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Three suspects led Orange County deputies on a 7-mile chase through Pine Hills on Thursday morning. A deputy on patrol spotted one of the passengers riding down West Colonial Drive while pointing a hunting rifle at another vehicle.
SLIDESHOW: Images From The Scene
The car the three were riding in was stolen from a repair shop worker. The suspects then used a path on the side of a home on Barnett Place to park the stolen vehicle in a backyard to try to hide. They didn't know deputies were watching them from a helicopter above.One at a time, all three suspects were arrested. Investigators said the white Maxima they stole was dropped off at a repair shop Wednesday. The technician took it home to test drive it and the suspects stole it.An Orange County deputy spotted the men, ages 18, 19 and 20, riding around on West Colonial Drive. One of them pointed a rifle used to hunt deer out of the window at a black car. The deputy realized they were trying to carjack that driver and she called for back up."I just got off work and I heard the sirens and I'm like, wow, they seem to be getting closer," said eyewitness Rate Williams.The suspects parked the Maxima in Williams' neighbor's backyard and tried to run. Deputies caught one of them right away. The second one tried to hide in Williams' shed. The third finally came down off the roof of a home when firefighters came with a ladder. They found the rifle on the backseat and another handgun next to the car."I guess their crime spree is going to be over for a while now," Williams said.The three all charged with burglary, resisting arrest and aggravated assault, because they nearly took out a deputy trying to put out stop sticks during the chase."The deputy actually had to leap onto his car and pull himself in to avoid being struck by this person. A car at that speed is a 2,000-pound bullet," said Comm. Spike Hopkins, Orange County Sheriff's Office.The sheriff's office has not released the names of the suspect. Deputies are hoping the driver they were trying to carjack will come forward.
SLIDESHOW: Images From The SceneThe car the three were riding in was stolen from a repair shop worker. The suspects then used a path on the side of a home on Barnett Place to park the stolen vehicle in a backyard to try to hide. They didn't know deputies were watching them from a helicopter above.One at a time, all three suspects were arrested. Investigators said the white Maxima they stole was dropped off at a repair shop Wednesday. The technician took it home to test drive it and the suspects stole it.An Orange County deputy spotted the men, ages 18, 19 and 20, riding around on West Colonial Drive. One of them pointed a rifle used to hunt deer out of the window at a black car. The deputy realized they were trying to carjack that driver and she called for back up."I just got off work and I heard the sirens and I'm like, wow, they seem to be getting closer," said eyewitness Rate Williams.The suspects parked the Maxima in Williams' neighbor's backyard and tried to run. Deputies caught one of them right away. The second one tried to hide in Williams' shed. The third finally came down off the roof of a home when firefighters came with a ladder. They found the rifle on the backseat and another handgun next to the car."I guess their crime spree is going to be over for a while now," Williams said.The three all charged with burglary, resisting arrest and aggravated assault, because they nearly took out a deputy trying to put out stop sticks during the chase."The deputy actually had to leap onto his car and pull himself in to avoid being struck by this person. A car at that speed is a 2,000-pound bullet," said Comm. Spike Hopkins, Orange County Sheriff's Office.The sheriff's office has not released the names of the suspect. Deputies are hoping the driver they were trying to carjack will come forward.
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