Times staff
Sunday, August 15, 2010
ST. PETERSBURG — Pinellas County deputies arrested two teens after shots were fired by a deputy during a traffic stop Sunday night.
There were no injuries reported from the gunfire.
According to Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Marianne Pasha, Deputy Shane Boyette was filling out a stolen vehicle report near the Seminole Lanes Bowling Alley when he noticed a red Dodge van that was reported missing nearby in traffic.
The vehicle did not stop when Boyette attempted to pull it over, and the driver fled to a residential area on the 6000 block of Creek View Terrace.
Investigators say the van drove through several yards until one teen jumped from the van and ran, and the other backed the van toward the deputy.
Then Boyette pulled his gun.
"Deputy Boyette challenged the second suspect in the van, but then the van began backing towards him — concerned about his safety, Deputy Boyette fired several rounds at the van," according to a statement from the Sheriff's Office.
The teen in the van was arrested without injury.
A sheriff's canine team and other responding deputies caught the second teen a few minutes after his escape, investigators said.
According to the Sheriff's Office, both suspects are 16 and will be identified when charged.
The suspect apprehended by the sheriff's dog received a bite injury and was treated at St. Petersburg General Hospital and released.
Boyette has been in law enforcement since 1993, starting with the Dunedin Police Department. He joined the Sheriff's Office in 1995, left for the private sector in 2001, then returned to the Sheriff's Office in 2008.
The shooting is being investigated by the Sheriff's Office Internal Affairs bureau.