Carjacking leads to low-speed chase, arrest

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - Michelle Lamotte is under arrest after allegedly beating up a woman, stealing her car, and then hitting two more. The woman then allegedly went one step further, hitting a police officer in the hospital.

"It is stupid, especially because she jumped my fence to go to her," said Patrick Howard, whose neighbor was the first alleged carjacking victim.

Surveillance video taken from Howard's house on 36th Avenue North shows Lamotte run across the street and pull the woman out of the car.  An altercation starts as others go to the woman's rescue.

"it is very disturbing, especially in this neighborhood," offered Howard.

Howard's video shows Lamotte pull out and drive away. St. Pete police say an officer saw her hit another a car a few blocks away, and keep going at about 10 miles an hour, because the carjacked car was now damaged.

"If you are trying to run from the police, you are going to go as fast as you can," said Rick Shaw of the St. Pete Police Department. "But if you can only do five or 10 miles an hour, you have some serious mechanical defects."

Then, three blocks later at 37th Street North, they say Lamotte plowed into another car, jumped out, and was trying to take that one when she was arrested.

"She had a bad day," said Shaw. "Why did did this we may never find out. We suspect possibly drugs."

That's when Lamotte was taken to Bayfront and allegedly slapped the hand of the arresting officer, grabbed his Miranda warning card, and threw it.

"She didn't want to go to jail," said Shaw.

Add battery on an officer to a list that already included carjacking, battery and burglary -- and a warrant for a previous incident.

"She needs to go to jail, needs to stay in jail, she shouldn't be on the street," added Howard.

In the past she has been arrested on several charges of theft. It is unclear when she will face a judge for these matters.