Man who stole BMW, flat-screen TVs in custody after police chase

APOPKA, Fla. — A burglary suspect was taken into custody after a short chase in Orange County Friday, according to Apopka authorities.

Officers said 18-year-old Neal Harrington and an unknown accomplice kicked in the door of a home in Apopka and stole two flat-screen TVs.

They said a witness called 911 to report the burglary.

The witness, who remains unidentified, said she noticed something amiss when her doorbell rang just before noon this morning.

"I ran downstairs to see who it was. I peeked around the corner and no one was there," she said.

When she went back upstairs and looked out a window, she saw a silver BMW parked in her neighbor's driveway with Harrington and his accomplice loading up a flat-screen TV.

"They threw that in the car and then they started backing out of the driveway so I was trying to explain to the 911 operator what the car looked like," the witness said.

The quick call to 911 allowed cops to catch up to the car within minutes.

Investigators said they spotted the two men in a stolen BMW and a chase ensued.

"We got in a pursuit of the vehicle they refused to stop. (We) continued the pursuit down 441 through parts of Apopka sometimes reaching speeds over 80 miles per hour," said Ed Chittenden of Apopka police.

The chase ended when the men drove the BMW to one of the suspects' houses, where they bailed from the car in Pine Hills near Hiawassee Road, authorities said.

The suspects ran into someone's back yard. One ran down a hill and jumped a fence. On the other side of the fence, officers said they found a loaded gun dropped by Harrington.

Officers said Harrington's accomplice got away.

Back at the car, investigators recovered two flat-screen TVs and an Xbox game system.

WFTV