Man accused of holding Lee Nissan employees against their will, along with carjacking and burglary: FWPD

Thomas Boni
·1 min read
6

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. — A Northwest Florida automobile dealership was no safe place to be Saturday morning, News 5 has learned.

Escambia County Narcotics Unit makes two drug busts on Wednesday

Around 6:44 a.m., FWPD officers responded to several active-shooter reports at Lee Nissan, 235 Miracle Strip Parkway SW.

“Officers arrived, cleared the business but did not locate the suspect on scene,” an FWPD news release said, and “no employees were Injured.”

Surveillance from Lee Nissan shows the suspect burglarizing multiple vehicles there “before entering the establishment and holding employees against their will and stealing items before fleeing on foot,” the release said.

Officers received a description of the suspect, found him on Coral Drive Southwest and challenged him at gunpoint, but he ran away, according to the news release.

“Officers shifted the perimeter north and located the suspect at 220 Santa Rosa Street SW (Thrifty Storage),” the release said.

However, at that point, “the suspect forced a male subject out of a … Chevrolet pickup at gunpoint, entered the vehicle and attempted to flee; a brief vehicle pursuit ensued until the suspect crashed the stolen pickup truck into a fence on the storage facility property and fled on foot.”

Fort Walton Beach police found the suspect shortly after that chase, behind Priority One HVAC at 124 Hollywood Blvd., and he was taken into custody, the release said.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and helped establish a perimeter and detain the suspect.

First jubilee of the year spotted in Point Clear; multiple citations handed to participants

Law enforcement officials said they found the gun allegedly used in the incident inside the vehicle used in the chase.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5.