- April 19, 2024
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Story courtesy of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, by Public Affairs Manager Brittany Kershaw.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office received an alert from an LPR that a stolen vehicle was heading north on U.S. 1 at 10 a.m. Sunday, July 14. Sheriff Rick Staly spotted the vehicle near Belle Terre heading toward Bunnell. After Staly confirmed a match of the license plate number to the stolen tag, a traffic stop was initiated by a marked patrol unit.
The suspect vehicle then increased in speed and fled from deputies.
The vehicle traveled recklessly at excessive speeds weaving in and out of traffic and making erratic U-turns on U.S., trying to avoid numerous attempts to deploy StopSticks by other deputies. Deputies briefly lost sight of the vehicle and spotted it again as it attempted to turn east on Royal Palms Parkway, where the driver lost control and crashed into a Penske rental truck.
The stolen vehicle was occupied by three people. Staly and deputies approached the vehicle with their weapons drawn and ordered the occupants to exit the vehicle. Two suspects were quickly detained while the third was trapped in the car due to damage to the door from the collision.
“This is another great example of LPR’s helping us capture criminals and prevent them from preying on our community,” Staly said. “These individuals put lives in danger while they fled trying to avoid being arrested. We are fortunate no one was seriously hurt by their actions.”
The driver was identified as Brian Johnson, 21, the front seat passenger was identified as Marquis Gross, 21, and the backseat passenger was identified as Justin King, 22. All three suspects made complaints of injuries from the crash and were taken to the hospital. The driver of the Penske rental truck also suffered minor injuries from the suspects crashing into him and was taken to the hospital.
The investigation found that the vehicle was stolen, as well as the license plate, in Gainesville. The recovered vehicle was taken to the FCSO impound for processing, due to it containing possible stolen power equipment and counterfeit currency.
Johnson was arrested and charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, petit theft, and fleeing and eluding law enforcement. He is being held without bond. King and Gross were each arrested and charged with burglary of a conveyance for knowingly entering and remaining inside a stolen vehicle with the intent to deprive the owner of his or her property. King and Gross each have a $5,000 bond.
All three suspects are residents of Gainesville.
Body camera footage is available here: https://youtu.be/vycTPH0ud88
