I-95 Pursuit in Martin County ends in arrest of Palm Beach County suspect in homicide

Mauricio La Plante, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·2 min read

MARTIN COUNTY — Sheriff's deputies arrested a man they said is a suspect in a murder in Palm Beach County after a "intense" pursuit on Interstate 95 Monday.

Around 10:30 a.m., Palm Beach County deputies and a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force were surveilling three people at a hotel on Donald Ross Road in Palm Beach County.

The group of men got in a vehicle and started to travel north on Interstate 95 as they were being tracked by the deputies and U.S. marshals, said Martin County sheriff's Chief Deputy John Budensiek.

A vehicle lays on its side after a Martin County sheriff's detective performed a pit maneuver and deputies deployed CS gas to force a group of people out of a vehicle after a pursuit on I95.
A vehicle lays on its side after a Martin County sheriff's detective performed a pit maneuver and deputies deployed CS gas to force a group of people out of a vehicle after a pursuit on I95.

One of the suspects in the vehicles realized law enforcement was following them and the group attempted to elude them on I-95, which sparked the pursuit.

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office alerted Martin County Sheriff's Office as the suspects approached Martin County.

Martin deputies joined the pursuit as the pursued vehicle led them to a stretch of I-95 near the Martin County Rest Area and the Southwest Citrus Boulevard overpass, Budensiek said.

As the vehicle moved into a space on I-95 with no traffic immediately around it, a detective performed a pit maneuver on the group's vehicle, Budensiek said.

A pit maneuver is when law enforcement makes contact with the rear of a vehicle to knock it out of control.

"The vehicle went into a spin, eventually struck a light pole and then rolled up onto its side bringing the pursuit part of the incident to a conclusion," Budensiek said.

Law enforcement and the suspects then had a "short" standoff, which ended when deputies deployed tear gas to draw the group of people out of the vehicle.

"... It gives you a strong sense that you can't see, that you can't breathe," Budensiek said. "It's not something that would kill you, but it gives you the feeling that you can't breathe. And it's extremely uncomfortable. And at that point, all three occupants of the vehicle came out of the vehicle and surrendered to our detectives."

Sheriff's officials said Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force worked with Martin County to make the arrests.

A 19-year-old man from Riviera Beach, who was a passenger in the vehicle, is a suspect in a homicide in Riviera Beach, Budensiek said. He was charged with murder. Information about the homicide was not available.

The 20-year-old driver of the car, from West Palm Beach, was charged with fleeing and eluding law enforcement.

The chief deputy said a third person in the vehicle was not arrested or charged with a crime.

Traffic was closed off on a portion of the north and southbound lanes of I-95 in Martin County for a while Monday, but all lanes are now open.

Mauricio La Plante is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm focusing on Martin County. Follow him on Twitter @mslaplantenews or email him at Mauricio.LaPlante@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Murder suspect arrested after pursuit on Interstate 95 in Martin County