KEY LARGO, Fla. — A chaotic and dangerous wrong-way chase in the Florida Keys ended at a Key Largo resort ― and with two of the three suspects trying to hatch creative ways to blend in, witnesses and deputies said.
Officials with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says it started in Islamorada, where deputies were helping the Department of Business and Professional Regulation with an unlicensed contracting investigation.
That’s when the trio took off in a truck, heading north along U.S. 1. Deputies said Jonathan Mitchell, 19, of St. Petersburg, was the driver.
Cellphone video shows their truck driving in the wrong direction, narrowly missing other cars.
The truck continued until eventually turning into the parking lot of Gilbert’s Resort and Marina at 107900 Overseas Highway in Key Largo, where witnesses recorded video showing the vehicle driving in circles with deputies close behind.
“First of all, the high-speed vehicle caught our attention, then all the sirens and law enforcement, just wondering what the heck was going on,” witness Buddy Magor, visiting from out of state, said.
Another clip shows the truck sideswiping a cruiser while a deputy was inside. The vehicle eventually came to a stop after hitting spike strips.
“It was kind of crazy, it added a little excitement and obviously stories to tell when we head back to Southern California,” Magor said.
Deputies said they quickly took Mitchell into custody. Passengers Butch Anthony Stevens, 46, and Denise Michelle Bennett, 44, both of Fort Lauderdale, took off running.
Elina Weisberg, the owner of Gilbert’s, told Local 10 News that Bennett tried to get a room at the resort to try to evade deputies.
“The lady later walked into the office and she inquired about accommodations and when we asked her, ‘What kind of accommodations are you looking for, because we have different-sized rooms’ and she just said, ‘Any!’” Weisberg said. “At that point we started getting suspicious and that’s when we said, ‘Isn’t that the lady from the truck?’”
Meanwhile, she said Stevens ran towards the water and tried to disguise himself as a fisherman.
Deputies said Stevens approached Felix Esquijarosa, 69, of Miami, and began fishing with him.
They said Esquijarosa falsely told a Florida Highway Patrol trooper who approached them that he and Stevens had been “fishing for hours together.”
That landed Esquijarosa in hot water as well; deputies said he was given a notice to appear on a charge of providing false information to law enforcement.
All three suspects in the pursuit face various charges, with Stevens’ being the most extensive, ranging from fleeing and eluding to aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
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