By Danny Valentine and Ileana Morales, Times Staff Writers
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The stolen white Dodge pickup truck ended up across a drainage ditch Tuesday morning at a Shell gas station at Nursery and Belcher roads.
CLEARWATER — A burglary suspect was shot, and three others were injured early Tuesday after trying to ram a police car with a stolen pickup truck, police said.
The shooting took place after Clearwater police officers tried to stop the suspects as they were leaving Chateau Wood Drive with at least one stolen motorbike in the pickup shortly after 4 a.m., police said.
The suspect who was shot, 15-year-old Sylvester Keandra Brown, is expected to live, said police spokeswoman Elizabeth Watts.
The three other suspects sustained minor injuries in the crash and were all taken to Morton Plant Hospital. They were treated and released to police.
Police identified the three injured in the crash as 18-year-old Deandre Lamar Douglas, 18, and Tony McAffee and Jaquieus Marquis Butler, both 14. All four are from Clearwater, police said.
All four are facing felony charges, Watts said. The investigation is ongoing, but possible charges include grand theft auto, burglary and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Watts said.
No police officers were injured.
Clearwater police Officer Kyle Resler shot at the truck after the driver, who has been identified as McAffee, nearly hit two officers and then rammed a cruiser while trying to flee, Watts said.
Watts said Resler was placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure after a shooting.
The stolen white Dodge pickup truck ended up across a drainage ditch at a Shell gas station at Nursery and Belcher roads (map below). The driver's-side window had at least three bullet holes, and the back window was partially shattered.
Police were originally called to the scene by a homeowner who awoke around 4 a.m. and witnessed the burglary. The homeowner called police to report it and was able to give a description of the vehicle.
Several motorbikes have been stolen recently in the neighborhood, said Darrell Hagen, a neighbor who stopped by the crime scene early Tuesday.
Hagen, 37, said three of his motorbikes were stolen last week from a trailer next to his house, about 4 miles west of Tuesday's crime scene.
He said one of his neighbors had four motorbikes stolen a month ago, and it happened to someone else within a few blocks of his home.
"They've been hitting us hard," Hagen said.
In addition to Tuesday's incident, there have been two motorcycle thefts and three dirt bike thefts since June in Clearwater, said Watts.
The thefts have been scattered throughout the city and there doesn't appear to be any trend, she said.