Four men from the Miami area traveled to Naples and caused mayhem Wednesday afternoon, according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.
A Facebook release says that after their 120-plus mile journey west in a white Ford pickup truck, the suspects ended up at Corkscrew Middle School around 3:30 p.m., where they stole a different Ford pickup (a F-250, also white) from the parking lot.
The crew then popped by a gas station and ripped off a keg of beer, the sheriff’s post says.
Deputies spotted the stolen truck heading west on Golden Gate Boulevard at “a high rate of speed” and attempted to pull them over, but were initially unsuccessful.
Deputies later observed the jacked vehicle “recklessly” zooming down Collier Boulevard, approaching U.S. 41 East, and attempted to stop it once again. But the driver, Yeniel Aguilar Rodriguez, 38, kept going, fleeing to I-75, aka Alligator Alley.
Stop sticks, tire-deflation devices used by law enforcement, were deployed at I-75 and State Road 29 where the sheriff’s office says Aguilar attempted to run one deputy off the road and strike others.
The sticks were successful in slowing down the truck, which went into a ditch, then crossed the highway, where deputies were finally able to bring it to a halt.
Aguilar and Frank Luis Henriquez Diaz, 36, ran from the truck across the highway where Jose Rodriguez Nodarce, 30, and Abel Batista Palacios, 48, were waiting inside the original truck.
Aguilar jumped into the passenger seat and kicked a deputy “multiple times in the chest,” causing his body-worn camera to fall off, authorities say.
“These four individuals came to Collier County with the intent of committing felonious activity with no regard for law enforcement,” Coller Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said. “They put the lives of deputies and other motorists at risk with their reckless behavior, and thankfully nobody was seriously hurt. They will now be held accountable for their criminal actions.”
WINK News’ footage from the scene shows the havoc caused as a large chunk of the Alligator Alley, which connects Naples with Broward County to the east, was shut down.
“Chaos,” bystander Delma Colon told the station. “It’s crazy.”
All four, who are convicted felons, were arrested on multiple charges, including grand theft auto, aggravated assault and resisting arrest.
