Four juveniles are behind bars in Sumter County and one man is still on the loose following a violent armed robbery at a Wildwood minimart late Friday night that could be gang-related.
The juveniles – 15-year-old Thomas Vontavious Dearius, 16-year-old Christopher A. Jones, 14-year-old Joshua M. Fluellen and 15-year-old Peter N. Christian – all are from the Orlando area. They were caught after a high-speed chase down Interstate 75 that ended in Bushnell. They are facing a myriad of charges in connection with the robbery, fleeing from law enforcement and resisting arrest.
The juveniles were traveling in a Cadillac SUV and the adult was driving a small red compact car, both of which were reportedly stolen through carjackings. It is believed the adult may have been watching the teenagers perform the robbery at the Mobile Gas Station at 368 E State Road 44, west of I-75, as part of their gang initiation, Sumter County Sheriff Bill Farmer said during an afternoon press conference at his office in Wildwood.
“We don’t know for sure but that’s the way it appears,” Farmer said. “We won’t have any proof of that until we get our hands on the other individual.”
The robbery took place after the juveniles burst into the minimart shortly before midnight Friday. They pistol-whipped the clerk and ransacked the area behind the checkout counter before fleeing the scene with the cash from the register and tobacco products.
Sumter County Dep. Rashad Chavis spotted them a short time later and the pursuit quickly moved onto I-75. The pursuit reached speeds of more than 100 mph and at one point the suspects were traveling south in the northbound lanes of the interstate, Farmer said.
The compact car eventually crashed near a Spirit Truck Stop in the Lake Panasoffkee area and the suspect apparently slammed his head into the windshield. He got away and still is being sought by deputies.
The pursuit of the juveniles ended after they got off I-75 in Bushnell and blew a tire while traveling on West Street. One of the passengers was caught hiding in the bed of a pickup and the other three were arrested in the early morning hours near the Winn-Dixie grocery store at 1122 N. Main Street.
“We got reports from citizens that there were suspicious people in front of Winn-Dixie,” Farmer said, adding that the three teenagers could have been waiting for someone to pick them up when they were apprehended.
Farmer said the two vehicles used in the robbery were stolen in Orange County and Leesburg. And he said the robbery in Wildwood matches the description of similar crimes committed in Volusia County, Seminole County, Orange County and Leesburg.
“This is something that we can’t tolerate here in Sumter County and I’m sure the other sheriffs and the police chiefs in the other areas will not tolerate it, either,” Farmer said.
Chief Dep. Chris Haworth said the suspects created an extremely dangerous situation by driving on the wrong side of I-75 against oncoming traffic. But he said they had a reason for doing so – to avoid the possibility of hitting stop sticks put down by deputies to blow out their tires.
“They were trying to counter that by driving in the wrong lane,” he said.
Capt. Jon Galvin said it’s concerning to see such violence coming into Sumter County from other areas of the state.
“That’s not something that we see every day,” he said. “But unfortunately for the individuals that committed the crime, they weren’t expecting Sumter County to respond the way we did and it ultimately got them caught. They may get away with that in other counties, but they’re not going to get away with it in Sumter County.”
Farmer agreed, adding that he’s quite proud of the way Chavis – it was the two-year deputy’s first chase – and the others involved handled the situation.
“They don’t take any chances and we apprehend the bad guys,” he said. “Usually, when they come to Sumter County, they don’t leave Sumter County. That’s the way I like it. They go to our ‘Big House’ in Bushnell.”
