4 teens face charges after stealing vehicle, leading police on chase, police say

Victim says SUV stolen outside his job on Tuesday

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla.Four teenagers were arrested Wednesday after leading Miami-Dade police on a chase in a stolen vehicle, authorities said.

The victim, Jorin Willaims, told Local 10 News that he left his keys on the trunk of his Honda Element Tuesday after work while he was loading up his vehicle. He said he had a tablet and two phones in the SUV.

Williams said he used the phones' GPS the next day to track his vehicle to the area of Northwest Second Avenue and 52nd Street. He said he saw two girls and two boys walk to his vehicle and drive away.

According to an arrest report, Williams called 911 shortly after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday as he followed the teens to the area of Northwest 103rd Street and Seventh Avenue, where police caught up with the vehicle.

Police said the driver, Joseph Phanor, 17, refused to stop as he was being followed by multiple officers and a police helicopter.

 Authorities said the teens bailed out of the moving SUV in the 2500 block of Northwest 93rd Terrace, which came to rest against a chain link fence, causing $500 in damage to the fence.

Phanor, Tiyana Jean, 16, and a 15-year-old boy and girl were arrested. Local 10 News does not identity children under 16 who have not been charged as adults.

"I'm saddened that it was, I have to say, they're my own people that have stolen from me," Williams said. "If they would have asked me for something, I would have gave it to them." 

According to the arrest report, Phanor claimed that his cousin, the 15-year-old boy, picked him up earlier in the SUV, which he suspected was stolen because his cousin doesn’t have a car.

Police said Phanor said that he fled from authorities because he was scared.

Meanwhile, the 15-year-old boy told detectives that Phanor picked him up in the vehicle, which he figured was stolen because Phanor told him that the vehicle was "splat," the report said.

The boy also told detectives that he ran from officers because he was scared.

The teens face charges of grand theft of a vehicle and resisting an officer without violence. Phanor faces an additional charge of fleeing and eluding police.

No injuries were reported during the chase and takedown. 


About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.