FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla., – Four young men were arrested after running from a stolen car and hiding in the woods Friday, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies received a call of a 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe being driven recklessly on Interstate 95 at 5:30 p.m. A few minutes later, a license plate reader alerted deputies to a stolen car that matched the description on that vehicle on Palm Coast Parkway. The car had been reported stolen to the Holly Hill Police Department.
Recommended Videos
Stop sticks were deployed, and deputies say the driver drove recklessly, speeding with no regard for the safety of other drivers. Deputies say despite their demands for the driver to stop, he continued driving. The FCSO decided to stop the chase, but set up a perimeter and called FireFlight for assistance.
A resident called 911 saying she saw three men running through her yard and jumping over her fence. Deputies found the stolen car abandoned with the engine still running in a driveway on Banner Lane.
The helicopter and FCSO K-9 unit were able to find all four suspects in a wooded area near Bannbury Lane.
"They could have caused a very serious crash by their actions. I am proud of our deputies for safely apprehending these suspects and taking them into custody without getting anyone hurt. This is another great example of our teamwork, technology and strategies working to quickly apprehend criminals with the support from our community," Sheriff Rick Stalysaid.
James Simms,16, Jemari Overstreet, 18, Heron Burson, 18 and Steven Johnson, 20, were all arrested and taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility.
Overstreet, the driver, was charged with grand theft, fleeing and eluding, driving without a license, burglary, loitering or prowling and resisting an officer without violence.
Burson, Johnson and Simms were charged with burglary, resisting an officer without violence and loitering or prowling. Burson was also charged with giving deputies a fake name.