Florida man begs for a smoke following chase and arrest
Suspect arrested in Volusia County after carjacking
The suspect tried to evade law enforcement, bailing out of the vehicle and into the Halifax River.
VOLUSIA, Fla. - A suspected carjacker bailed out of the vehicle and into the Halifax River before being arrested by deputies. After the arrest, the suspect decided to ask the deputies if he could bum a cigarette from them.
The backstory:
Monday night, Volusia County Sheriff's Deputies pursued a suspected carjacker in the Daytona Beach Shores area.
It was about 9 p.m., when the victim told deputies that the man, later identified as Grant Hagood-James, begged him for a ride. Once allowed in the vehicle, the victim told deputies that the suspect pulled a gun and forced him out of the car.
Issuing an alert for the stolen vehicle, deputies scrambled the helicopter into the air to surveil the neighborhood looking for the suspect.
With deputies on his trail, Hagood-James abandoned the car outside a home on Shamrock Drive. The gun was found discarded nearby. Sheriff's K9 teams worked with Port Orange Police, Edgewater Police and the Public Safety team from Daytona Shores to search for the suspect.
Not far from there, the Sheriff's Helicopter located the now shirtless suspect in the water off of a Port Orange Restaurant. He had apparently jumped into the Halifax River in his effort to escape.
Volusia Air One image
The helicopter located the man floundering in the water alongside the mangroves there and deputies were able to capture him.
The 34-year-old suspect was brought back to waiting law enforcement vehicles breathless and exhausted from running and swimming away from his pursuers.
That's when he asked, "Any way I could have a smoke?"
Suspect on Body Worn video
The deputies were shocked that he even asked.
"Please?" he said.
"Why do you deserve it," one deputy asked.
That's where he began justifying why he needed one. He claimed that there were alligators out there, crocodiles even.
The deputies just laughed.
He was handcuffed and taken to assist the deputies in their search for the contraband in a backpack that he discarded.
Courtesy: Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
What's next:
Hagood-James was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail after 11pm. He was charged with armed carjacking and other charges and is being held without bond.
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The Source: This story was written based on a press release from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.