Stolen Car Chase Spanned 3 Counties

A 15-year-old boy spotted behind the wheel of a stolen car in Wesley Chapel Thursday morning was arrested in St. Petersburg following a three-county chase.

According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, the boy now faces numerous auto burglary, grand theft and traffic charges. While his name isn’t being released just yet, deputies say the teen will be charged as an adult in the crimes.

The incident began early Thursday morning as Pasco County deputies were conducting surveillance in the area of Northwood Palms Road and County Line Road in Wesley Chapel. A string of recent auto thefts and burglaries in the area prompted the operation.

Around 2:35 a.m., deputies noticed an auto burglary in progress, an email from the Pasco Sheriff’s Office stated. Deputies tried to make contact with the suspects, but they took off in three different vehicles. Those vehicles got onto Interstate 75 and later on to Interstate 275, the email said. The vehicles were described as two sedans, possibly white and red in color, and a Toyota Camry.

The drivers of the vehicles continued from Pasco, through Hillsborough and eventually into Pinellas County. While it is unclear what happened with the other two vehicles, the driver of the Camry was spotted at Fairfield Avenue and 34th Street South in St. Petersburg around 3 a.m. The teen was brought into custody. The car is believed to have been stolen out of Tampa.

The teen was being booked into the Pinellas County Jail Thursday morning. No further details are available at this time.

Anyone with information about the crime or the recent string of auto thefts in Pasco is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 1-800-706-2488. Tips may also be submitted via the sheriff’s office website at www.pascosheriff.com.

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