Stolen Vehicle Trips License Plate Reader; Fleeing Driver Rams Deputy's Vehicle And Speeds To I-4 Before Capture

Date Added: June 02, 2018 5:12 pm

Andrew Gant
Office of Public Affairs & Media Relations

STOLEN VEHICLE TRIPS LICENSE PLATE READER; FLEEING DRIVER RAMS DEPUTY’S VEHICLE AND SPEEDS TO I-4 BEFORE CAPTURE

A man driving a stolen vehicle with a missing 15-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy in the car led Volusia County sheriff’s deputies on an early-morning pursuit out of Daytona Beach until he bailed out and was caught hiding in some bushes off Interstate 4.

Jervaughn A. Bonner, 26 (10/7/1991), of Orlando, was driving a stolen 2018 Ford passenger car around 12:10 a.m. Saturday when it was captured by License Plate Reader technology on International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona.

Deputies who were notified of the LPR hit spotted the vehicle at a red light at ISB and Nova Road. One deputy pulled alongside the car while another deputy exited his vehicle and ordered Bonner to put his hands up. The children in the vehicle weren’t visible at the time. Bonner looked at the deputies and made eye contact, then accelerated, ramming one of the patrol cars and fleeing south on Nova, then U-turning back north and heading west on ISB.

Deputies along Bonner’s route deployed stop sticks at ISB and White Street, deflating the driver’s side tires. But Bonner, who was driving at speeds estimated at 80 to 100 mph, continued west on ISB, past I-95 and Tomoka Farms Road, hitting another set of stop sticks about a half-mile west of Tomoka Farms.

Bonner headed onto I-4 with his tires deflated, hitting a guardrail along the way. He kept heading west on the interstate as his front driver’s side tire disintegrated and the wheel began throwing sparks.

He eventually pulled into the median and bailed out of the vehicle. Bonner and the 15-year-old passenger ran, and a deputy saw her trying to hide in some bushes. She was pulled from the shrubbery and placed in a patrol car while a K-9 unit looked for Bonner, ultimately apprehending him on the arm.

Bonner was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center for treatment of arm injuries sustained in the K-9 apprehension. He told deputies he heard the K-9 warnings and heard the dog come near him but didn’t think he was going to find him.

Bonner is charged with grand theft auto, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, two counts child abuse, fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement, interference with child custody, driving while license suspended or revoked and resisting an officer without violence.

The 15-year-old was returned to her mother. The 4-year-old, who was found in the front seat without a seatbelt or a child restraint seat, was placed in the care of the state Department of Children and Families. There were no injuries to the children or any of the deputies involved.