Lake County Sheriff's Office releases dash, body cam footage of car chase, shootout

MOUNT DORA — “Shots fired! Shots fired!” the Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputy shouted into his patrol car radio Monday as the suspect’s pickup raced wildly down Donnelly Street, swerving, running off the road, sometimes going into the opposing lane.

Within seconds, 18-year-old Jonny Santiago lost control of the 2021 Ford F-150 and plowed into the side of the Traditional Congregation synagogue in the 800 block, but the chaos, recorded on body and dash cam video, was just beginning.

A sheriff’s pickup plowed into the driver’s side of Santiago’s truck, and the gunman opened fire with his handgun, blasting away with 10 to 12 rounds that slammed into the deputy’s windshield. The deputy leaped out of his truck, firing his handgun in a fight for his life, just a few feet away.

The videos, released by the sheriff’s office late Wednesday afternoon, show adrenalin-fueled deputies emptying their handguns sometimes more than once at Santiago until he tosses his gun and crawls out of the passenger side door.

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Volusia timeline

Meanwhile, new details are emerging about what led to the chase, and the belief by Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood, that Santiago shot his father, Juan, at the family’s home in Deltona.

His father is still missing, and investigators found shell casings, a bloody shirt belonging to Jonny and other evidence at the home.

Chitwood’s comments were made during a press conference in his office Tuesday, published on YouTube and released by his public information officer.

The family, from Brooklyn, allowed the 18-year­-old to stay in their winter home on Lehigh Drive, and there were two vehicles at that location, a Honda Pilot, and a 2021 Ford F-150 pickup truck.

On July 3, Daytona Beach Shores Police tried to stop the Honda for a traffic infraction, and learned the car was registered to Juan, but did not get a good look at the driver.

Only July 6, Jonny’s mother, Lisa Santiago, called the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office asking for a well-being check on her son.

“He’s acting out and acting strangely,” Chitwood said Lisa told them.

He was not home when deputies arrived.

On July 7, Jonny wrecked the Honda on Interstate 4.

“The family becomes really, really concerned about the way Johnny is acting,” Chitwood said.

Jonny's father boarded a plane and landed at Orlando International Airport on Sunday, the 10th. Juan then calls his son but has to catch an Uber ride to the house.

“At 10:43 p.m., Dad is on the phone with mom, Lisa, and he’s arguing with his son, Johnny, to turn over the car keys. The argument is heated. Mom hears gunshots and the phone goes dead. Mom panics, as is normal, and calls 911 and gets the NYPD on the phone. It takes NYPD nine or 10 minutes to notify us,” Chitwood said.

Volusia deputies arrived on the scene at 11:20 p.m. They later discovered that, while securing the scene between 11:27 and 11:35 p.m., Jonny drove past the house in the pickup truck.

Meanwhile, deputies were getting information from a neighbor, including that Jonny had been seen earlier walking up and down the street wearing a winter coat.

The key, Chitwood said, is the 13- to 15-minute window after the phone call to New York goes dead. Phone records show Jonny was still at the house.

One of the things deputies saw was a running shower. Then they discovered the bloody shirt.

Chitwood believes Jonny dumped his father’s body somewhere in Deltona between the time Jonny left the house and then drove back by.

At 11:44 p.m., the Sanford Police Department spotted the car and gives chase, but they lose him.

He goes on the move again around 4 a.m. Monday, but he gets away from Sanford police.

At some point, he went into Orange County, and finally, on Monday afternoon, he was spotted by the LCSO helicopter.

The case took a strange turn in Volusia before that happens, however.

The mother, at first cooperative, stops being helpful.

“I don’t want you in my house,” Chitwood quotes her as his deputies gather search warrants.

Chitwood said he has “no idea” why the mother is not being helpful.

“Maybe her son is more precious than her husband,” he said.

The Volusia sheriff speculated that the blood found on the shirt will be Juan’s blood.

He also revealed that besides the semi-automatic handgun that Jonny used in the gunfight, Lake deputies also found a 357-Magnum handgun in the pickup truck.

On Thursday, a Volusia spokesman said the Santiago family has come down from New York.

'...He wanted to go out in a blaze of glory

The videos released by the Lake Sheriff’s Office show the raw tension and the danger law enforcement officers faced.

“Let me see ….” a deputy shouts as he empties his firearm. “Let me see your [expletive] hands!”

After Santiago tosses his handgun and crawls out of the passenger door, he can be heard moaning and saying he is going to die. He is dragged a few feet away from the truck and rolled on his stomach so he can be handcuffed.

During the following minutes, the deputies who were shooting at Santiago just moments earlier, switched into rescue mode, rushing to put on gloves, retrieve medical gear and put pressure on wounds until an ambulance crew could arrive.

A quick check with the help of a Mount Dora officer showed he had been shot in the buttocks and his arm.

“I’m bleeding out,” Jonny said.

“You’re not bleeding out. You’re fine,” a deputy says.

His head and throat had cuts and abrasions, but they appeared to be minor.

He was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he is in custody and charged with three counts of attempted murder of law enforcement officers, shooting from a vehicle, and speeding and eluding.

Deputies and civilians were not injured or killed. A man can be seen in the background after he crashed his scooter.

“Thank God the Lake County and Mount Dora officers came out OK,” Chitwood said, “because there is no doubt in my mind he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory.”

LCSO Lt. John Herrell said two deputies and one Mount Dora were actively involved in the gunfight. A second Mount Dora officer assisted in the medical rescue effort.

The officer involved shooting is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and two deputies have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

The department already has another deputy on leave following a shooting in Lady Lake in April.

The deputy said he fired at a car that failed to stop in Lady Lake and tried to hit him as he stepped outside his patrol car. The FDLE is still investigating that use of force.

Two suspects in the car suffered non-life-threatening injuries in a chase that ended south of Leesburg.

In 2021, the State Attorney’s Office cleared another deputy in a shooting.

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Lake sheriff's office releases cam footage of Mount Dora chase, shootout