Police ID suspect left behind in Ormond Beach car theft

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — Police said they arrested a 19-year-old man for his role in a car theft that resulted in the victim being dragged early Friday morning in Volusia County.

The incident happened outside a home on Aston Circle in Ormond Beach.

Investigators said Gary Taylor went inside his house to get his son for school and left his SUV, with trailer attached, running in the driveway to warm up.

He then walked out as thieves were stealing it. Taylor also saw a silver car nearby.

"I noticed my trailer was 15 feet down the driveway from where I had parked it. Then the man in the silver car yelled, 'Go, go, go!" said Taylor.

Taylor said he tried to stop the men and grabbed onto a ladder that was attached to the outside of the trailer.

"I just reacted. It was like, you know, I couldn't believe that my car was being stolen. It just totally caught me off guard, because I consider this to be a safe neighborhood. But I guess no neighborhood is safe anymore," Taylor said.

Taylor was dragged down the street and suffered minor injuries after he let go.

Officers said that the thieves inside the stolen SUV and another car that was following it drove to a home in Daytona Beach, where an officer spotted the stolen vehicle in a yard.

According to police, the officer called for backup and approached the men standing near the vehicle.

As the officer approached, one of the men jumped into the SUV and tried to run over the officer, authorities said. The officer then jumped off his motorcycle and fired one shot at the car, hitting it, according to police.

Neighbor Bart Bowers said he heard the shot being fired.

"That's when I yelled, 'Shots fired, shots fired,' and even my roommate woke up. I was like, 'Shots fired in the front yard,'" said Bowers.

Police said the SUV left the scene but the 19-year-old suspect, Devonte Smokes, was left behind and apprehended.

Police said the SUV was later found in Daytona Beach, and the stolen trailer was also recovered.

Investigators said they're still e searching for at least two other people involved in the incident.

Police said they also recovered the second vehicle, a Mazda, which had also been stolen.

Two handguns were found in the front passenger's side of the Mazda, investigators said.

WFTV