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Florida man speeding from deputies in stolen car gets trapped in tennis court fence on Holmes Beach

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Published  August 21, 2024 4:54pm EDT
Manatee County
FOX 13 News

Speeding suspect arrested after series of crashes

Investigators say a stolen car, a domestic battery and a hit-and-run all led to the suspect taking off from deputies, then crashing into a fence in Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH, Fla. - A 24-year-old man was arrested, accused of stealing a vehicle, leaving the scene of a hit-and-run, failing to stop for law enforcement, and then crashing his vehicle into a fence.

Dominic Garcia is also facing charges of battery on a person 65 or older and operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. 

"It was a series of events that happened overnight," Holmes Beach police chief William Tokajer told FOX 13. 

Courtesy: Manatee County Sheriff's Office

Courtesy: Manatee County Sheriff's Office

Holmes Beach police first got involved around 6 a.m. on Wednesday after a black Ford Expedition fled the scene of a hit-and-run crash. Shortly thereafter, Sgt. Brett Getman of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office spotted the vehicle on the island.  

READ: Citrus County mother and daughter arrested after animals, kids removed from ‘inhumane’ living conditions

"He made a right-hand turn on Gulf Dr., and when I activated my lights, he took off," Getman said. 

Courtesy: Holmes Beach Police Department

Getman said he followed the vehicle on Gulf Dr. as it approached the curve near the Martinique condos, speeding over the median and towards the fence in front of the condo’s tennis courts. 

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"Yeah, the fence caught him. He was pinned up against it," Getman said. 

Courtesy: Holmes Beach Police Department

According to initial reports, the driver was going about 80 miles an hour in a 15-mile-an-hour zone.

READ: 2 DCF employees arrested in Polk County on back-to-back days for unrelated incidents: PCSO

"Just the way he was caught in the net [of the fence], it was crazy," Tokajer said. "I haven't seen anything like that before where they're caught in that much of a net."

Courtesy: Holmes Beach Police Department

As the Holmes Beach Police Department and Manatee County Sheriff’s Office worked to piece together what led up to this crash, they learned that this story started in Palmetto.  

"Stole the car in Palmetto. Then he had the domestic battery in Bradenton," the police chief told FOX 13. 

"A hit-and-run crash. A guy that flees from law enforcement. That typically doesn't happen out here," Getman said. 

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