Cops: Auto Thief Rammed 2 Cruisers Before Getting Caught

A 21-year-old man faces a host of charges after Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies say he swiped a minivan and then used it to strike two cruisers before being brought into custody.

The incident unfolded Wednesday when a 2005 Dodge Caravan that was reported stolen from 14670 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. was spotted heading southbound on Parsons Avenue.

The deputy that spotted the van asked for sheriff’s office aviation units to follow the vehicle.

In the area of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Parsons, deputies Mark Liittschwager, 47, and Carlos Bonilla-Febres, 45, attempted to stop the van with one patrol vehicle placed in front of the stolen vehicle and the other behind it, and email from the sheriff’s office stated.

“The suspect rammed into the patrol vehicle in front of him and immediately placed the vehicle into reverse and backed into the patrol vehicle behind him,” the email stated.

When that didn’t work, the deputies were able to remove the man from the vehicle. The suspect, however, grabbed Liittschwager’s leg, the email stated. Deputies brought him to the ground.

EMS responded to treat a scratch on the man’s cheek, the email stated. No deputies were injured, however, their cruisers, a Crown Victoria and a Dodge Charger, both suffered about $1,000 damage each.

Cody Leon Henderson, who has no known address, was charged in the case. He faces grand theft motor vehicle, two counts of aggravated battery with a motor vehicle and resisting arrest charges. Deputies also discovered he had three outstanding warrants for violation of probation.

Henderson was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail.

Photo credit: Cody Leon Henderson/Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

Keep up with what’s happening around town and the state by signing up for the Brandon Patch newsletter.