August 10, 2020
By: Staff Report, HCSO PR
PASCO COUNTY, Fla. – The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office’s Aviation Unit’s assistance in a cross-county stolen vehicle pursuit provided precise and valuable information that ultimately put a stop to the runaway suspects.
On Sunday, August 9, 2020, at 10:25 a.m., deputies responded to a delayed call for service of a stolen vehicle on the 13000 block of Beechberry Drive in Riverview. The victim told deputies his white 2013 Ford Transit work van was stolen from his driveway with approximately $5,000 worth of tools.
Using the van’s tracking device, deputies learned it had been driven to Osprey Lake Circle in Riverview and then into the City of Tampa. At approximately, 11:30 p.m. that same night, deputies were notified the stolen vehicle had driven back out into the county. HCSO’s Aviation Unit was called in to assist and began tracking the stolen van in the area of Highway 301 and Stacy Road in Thonotosassa. The van drove south and then turned onto Fowler Avenue, north on I-75, and eventually exited onto Bruce B. Downs Boulevard where it entered Pasco County.
Pasco sheriff’s deputies pursued the stolen van which eventually exited the interstate and ran off of Blanton Road. Two suspects jumped out of the slow-rolling vehicle and ran across all Northbound and Southbound lanes of I-75. HCSO’s aviation pilot tracked their movements into the wooded area and guided Pasco deputies to the suspects.
“These suspects stole a van and put dozens of drivers in danger, especially when they abandoned a moving vehicle and sprinted across a fast-moving interstate,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “We want to give a special shoutout to our aviation pilots and detectives who don’t miss a beat and provide critical information to deputies on the ground. The suspects in this case were arrested by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and thankfully, no one got hurt during the ordeal.”