Florida teens carjack Uber driver at gunpoint, crash into police car and run from cops before arrest
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: Two Florida teens are behind bars after they allegedly carjacked an Uber driver at gunpoint, police said on Wednesday, September 6.
The duo then crashed into a police car and a stop sign, and ran away from officers who fired shots at them.
Who are the teens behind Uber carjacking in Florida?
The suspects, 18-year-old Rogens Lormil Joseph and a 16-year-old, are accused of stealing the Uber driver’s car early Tuesday, September 5, morning in North Miami Beach, according to police.
The Uber driver as per NBC 6 told police that he had picked up the two teens when they asked him to stop on Northeast 18th Avenue.
“They then pointed a gun at his head and demanded his vehicle,” police said in a statement.
How did police catch teenage suspects?
The teens drove off in the stolen car but were soon spotted by officers who tried to pull them over.
The suspects refused to stop and led police on a chase that ended in Sunny Isles Beach, where they crashed into a police cruiser and then a stop sign, police said.
The teens then got out of the car and ran away, but were quickly caught by police.
Surveillance video showed one of the suspects being tackled by an officer outside a condominium on Collins Drive.
During the incident, one officer fired his gun but no one was injured by the gunfire, police said.
Were the teenagers armed?
Police said they found two guns in the suspects’ possession that had been reported stolen in Hollywood. They also found several credit cards that belonged to other victims of carjackings and robberies in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
One of those victims was a man who was carjacked at gunpoint on Saturday in North Miami, and had $7,000 in cash taken from him along with his car, police said.
What are the charges they are facing?
They are facing charges including carjacking robbery, aggravated battery, grand theft, fleeing and eluding an officer, reckless driving, and resisting an officer without violence.
Police said the two teens are connected to a series of armed carjackings, armed robberies, vehicle thefts and vehicle burglaries throughout the area.