ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH, Fla. – Several people have been arrested in connection to auto-related thefts, the St. Augustine Beach Police Department said Wednesday.
Officers responded Tuesday morning to auto burglaries and an auto theft in the Bermuda Run community. Police said the stolen car was later recovered in west St. Augustine unoccupied.
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During the early evening hours Tuesday night, officers were on routine patrol in the Bermuda Run neighborhood when they responded to a call about a suspicious person in the same neighborhood, police said.
An officer saw a light blue Toyota Prius quickly leaving Bermuda Run and also saw two other men walking away from the car.
Police said the officer conducted a computer check on the vehicle and learned it had been reported stolen out of Jacksonville and attempted to conduct a traffic stop as the driver attempted to elude the officer.
The officer caught up to the stolen vehicle and conducted a felony traffic stop and arrested the four people inside, police said.
Deputies with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office arrived at the Bermuda Run area, where they found and arrested the two other people, who also admitted to being in the stolen vehicle.
Further investigation revealed that the people in the stolen vehicle were also involved in an earlier auto theft, as well as vehicle burglaries in the Bermuda Run neighborhood, police said.
The people arrested were identified by police as Darius Patterson, 21; Tyre Burgess, 19; Kelvin Wright, 30; Ja'Vorace Bell, 22; and Talina McCall, 18, who are all from Duval County.
The five people arrested, some with violent criminal histories, were taken to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office Detention Facility, police said. Charges were also signed on for a sixth person.
Police said additional charges are pending further investigation.