Shoplifting Trio Flees Deputies, Car Ends in Water (video)

Deputies responding to a reported shoplifting ended up working a wreck, a foot search and a search of the water in the space of one afternoon. The body camera account describes how a chaotic scene unfolded around an Amoco gas station and the woods beside it, where a vehicle came to rest in the water. Merchandise from at least two retailers was later recovered, valued at about $1,836.

Deputies Chase Shoplifting Trio, Then a Car Ends Up in Water

A Reported Shoplifting, Then a Crash

The sequence begins with a deputy reporting a vehicle wrecked at the Amoco and ordering the people inside to show their hands. Under the gas station canopy, patrol vehicles sit in daylight while deputies move in on foot and detain those at the scene. Signs for a Food Mart and the fuel pumps are visible as the response gathers.

According to the account in the footage, three people had been inside a Camry. The car ended up in the water beside heavy brush, and the response split in two directions: the pumps area, where vehicles and deputies gathered, and the woods, where the search continued.

Deputies are shown walking through dense vegetation, palm fronds and low branches, well away from the roadway. They call out instructions and keep their lines of sight open while working the brush, one step at a time.

Search in the Woods and Water

Officers searched the woods around the crash. One suspect was found struggling in water and was ordered to come out with his hands visible, while another was detained near the wreck. Audio captures a deputy asking a man whether he is underwater and whether he has anything on him.

You better come out now with your hands up.

The man says he is trying to get up and answers that he has nothing. Despite complaints of injuries from the crash, deputies kept securing the scene and accounting for everyone who had been inside the Camry. The footage does not describe any medical outcome.

That combination — a wrecked car, a wooded search and a man in the water — is what makes the sequence unusual to follow, and it left many questions about how a retail call escalated this far so quickly.

Merchandise Recovered From Two Stores

Once the scene was under control, investigators went through what had been left behind. According to the account in the footage, they recovered:

Merchandise from Bath and Body Works and TJ Maxx
Bags and property believed tied to other retail thefts
A magnetic device used to remove anti-theft tags

The recovered merchandise was valued at about $1,836, a figure tied in the footage to Palm Coast. Deputies also said a bag had been dropped on the ground during the run, along with other items traced back to the stores.

What the Driver Was Told

After the suspects were detained, deputies confronted them about the escape. One officer told the driver that the attempted getaway had been captured on his body camera and that merchandise dropped during the run had been recovered.

The officer said the driver should not have tried to hit him, and added that he had the moment on video. The driver denied it, saying he did not try to hit him. There is no official conclusion yet on the collision or on the theft allegations.

The footage ends with deputies still working the scene, sorting out who had been in the car and what had been taken from the stores. At the pumps, deputies exchange brief remarks as the response settles, with one urging care and another asking what happened. No charges are confirmed in the material reviewed.

What should happen when a person being detained says he is injured while deputies are still trying to secure a scene like this one?

This story was edited from a publicly posted video; some details may not be independently verified.