Burglar Who Ran Over Officer Faces Felony Charges: Sarasota Police

SARASOTA, FL — A burglar connected to a Monday night hit-and-run crash that injured a Sarasota police officer faces multiple charges, authorities said.

Mark Thomas, 22, of Plantation was arrested at a probation office Wednesday afternoon in Broward County, according to a Sarasota Police Department news release.

He’s been charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and fleeing to elude with disregard for safety, both felonies, the agency said.

Since December 2019, Thomas has been convicted of multiple crimes, and was released from prison on Feb. 2, police said. His previous charges include carrying a concealed firearm, grand theft auto, possession of marijuana over 20 grams, burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and cocaine possession.

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The suspect was first spotted on Bird Key around 2 p.m. on Monday when a vehicle burglary was reported on Mourning Dove Drive. Surveillance video from a security guard booth caught him driving a four-door, S-Series Mercedes, likely stolen from South Florida, police said.

Sarasota police learned the same Mercedes was spotted on Longboat Key around 5 p.m. after police there responded to reports of a Range Rover stolen from a home on Fair Oaks Place.

The Mercedes was seen again on Bird Key later that evening, after 9 p.m. Officers strategically placed their patrol vehicles at the entrance/exit to stop the car from leaving the key, according to SPD.

Thomas drove past a parked patrol car and hit the officer — who was on foot — head on, flipping him over the vehicle.

The officer, who hasn’t been named, was brought to Sarasota Memorial Hospital and is recovering at home.

Other officers followed the Mercedes away from Bird Key as it drove east on John Ringling Causeway, north on U.S. 41 and east on Fruitville Road. The car was abandoned in the 2900 block of Orange Avenue, the agency said.

Investigators collected evidence from the car, including McDonald’s receipt, a time-stamped Chick-Fil-A bad, a red hat that said “Palm Beach,” a cell phone, a Lift Master garage door opener and a Linear electronic gate opener, according to Thomas’ probable cause affidavit.

The garage door and electronic gate openers belonged to the victim of the original vehicle burglary on Bird Key.

Detectives used the McDonald’s receipt and the Chick-Fil-A bag to track down video surveillance footage of the suspects, the affidavit said.

Thomas’ probation officer in Fort Lauderdale told Sarasota police that there “was a high probability” that the images in the surveillance footage were of him.

His palm print was also found on the back of the cell phone and his prints were elsewhere in the Mercedes.