TAMARAC, Fla. — A man wanted in an armed carjacking fled from a stolen vehicle after a chase and crash, jumped into a canal and then hid inside a Broward County home to elude capture.
WSVN reported that the carjacking occurred Wednesday afternoon in Miami-Dade County.
What resulted was a high-speed pursuit on Florida's Turnpike into Broward County.
The stolen white Lexus exited the turnpike and could be seen weaving in and out of traffic.
At one point, the Lexus stopped and the suspect, armed with a rifle, got out, approaching a white Tesla. The gunman forced the driver out of his car and sped away, leaving behind his accomplice who tried but failed to get into the passenger seat of the Tesla.
A short time later, a deputy rammed the Tesla with an unmarked pickup truck, but that didn't stop the suspect, who got out of the car and pretended to surrender, lying on the ground.
Instead, the man got up and ran through a neighborhood toward a nearby canal. He then took off his sweatshirt and shoes, swam across the water and ran between several homes on the other side of the canal.
The man appeared to be out of breath after the short swim, stopping to rest against an air-conditioning compressor before continuing his attempted escape.
After he tried to open the door to a vehicle parked in the driveway, the man then went inside a house, out of sight of the news helicopter following him from above.
Law enforcement surrounded the home on Northwest 54th Street, calling for the man to surrender.
Eventually, the man did, walking out of the home with his hands up. He was wearing only socks and underwear.
The other suspect was also taken into custody.
