Teens try to strike Department of Corrections prisoner transport van, troopers say

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Residents in a Marion County neighborhood were told to stay indoors for several hours Friday while investigators searched for suspects riding in a stolen car that nearly hit a prisoner transport van, deputies said.

"We were in the house for a long time and had the doors locked," said a resident who didn't want to be identified.

Deputies and troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol were searching in the Oak Run Subdivision off SW Highway 484 in Marion County.

The 2015 Nissan Altima was reported stolen in Gainesville, troopers said.

A Florida Department of Corrections officer reported that five people inside the car attempted to hit one of the two Department of Corrections prisoner transport vans at 1 a.m. while northbound on Interstate 75 in Sumter County, investigators said.

No one was hurt.

Troopers caught up with the Altima, tried to pull the driver over and pursued it into Marion County. The people got out of the car in the Oak Run Subdivision and took off, deputies said. Three of the teenagers were captured, but investigators are searching for two other individuals.

Deputies identified the suspects in custody as Zachary Stevenson, 17, A'zarrion D. Davis, 15, and Paul Cooper, 16, all of Gainesville. The teens are in the Marion County Jail, deputies said.

Rumors were circulating that the people in the car were escaped inmates, but deputies said that is not true.

Two people remain at large, investigators said. Deputies and troopers have cleared the neighborhood.

Cox Media Group