Suspects can run (or drive), but it’s difficult to hide from the speed and maneuverability of a helicopter.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), around 9:15 a.m. on January 7, two black, male suspects kicked the door in at a home in the Willow Pond neighborhood in Lutz, but fled in a red Ford Mustang when they saw that the owner was home.

An HCSO release states that deputies attempted to stop the vehicle at the on ramp of I-275 at Bearss Ave., but the suspects refused to stop and continued north in to Pasco County. An HCSO helicopter was called into aid in the chase.

The chopper located the suspects’ abandoned vehicle at the Ashley Furniture HomeStore on S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel. The suspects had fled the vehicle on foot and attempted to hide under the I-75 overpass, but were apprehended with the help of Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) deputies and the HCSO chopper.

The suspects, 22-year-old Zaki Grier of Tampa, and 29-year-old Jamar Sampson of Riverview, were found with jewelry on them and several other items were discovered in the vehicle, but none of those items were from the morning’s burglary attempt. Detectives are checking to see if any other homes in the area had recently been burglarized, and are trying to determine who owns the vehicle used in the chase.

 

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