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Published on Thursday, January 22, 2004
in the Pensacola News Journal
Three Pensacola residents are facing grand theft and other charges after leading police on a 50- mile chase in a stolen car through three counties.
Officials said speeds topped 100 mph as the fleeing vehicle sliced through Interstate 10 traffic on Wednesday.
Three sheriff's offices, two police departments and the Florida Highway Patrol collaborated to end the chase about 10:15 a.m. in Santa Rosa County.
Santa Rosa deputies arrested:
Tyi D. Nettles, 24, of the 1500 block of Fountain Place.
Randy L. Moutrie, 19, of the 2800 block of West Lakeview Avenue.
Jerome Boutwell, 15, of the 2700 block of West Yonge Street.
Boutwell later was transported to juvenile detention in Escambia County after he was booked at Santa Rosa County Jail.
Nettles and Moutrie remained in Santa Rosa County Jail on Wednesday night, each on $50,000 bond.
The pursuit began about 9:20 a.m. in Walton County. Walton deputies were called when a red 1995 Honda Civic drove off without paying for gasoline. Deputies learned the car had been stolen in Escambia County about a week ago.
Authorities gave this account:
Nettles, behind the wheel of the Honda, headed west on I-10 with deputies in pursuit.
As the chase barrelled west, officers from other agencies blocked the exits to keep the car on the interstate.
"We wanted to keep it on the interstate and keep it safe as possible," said Lt. Tom Moore, highway patrol spokesman. "We didn't want them on the local roads."
In Okaloosa County, near the Holt exit, deputies laid a spike strip across the road as the Honda approached, catching the passenger-side tires.
Nettles kept driving a couple of more miles into Santa Rosa County, stopping the vehicle on the north side of the interstate about a mile west of the Okaloosa County line.
Moutrie and Boutwell were arrested there, but Nettles ran into the nearby woods. Officers set up a perimeter and began to search for Nettles. He was found less than 30 minutes later.
Nettles is wanted in Escambia County on aggravated assault, robbery and battery charges, said Santa Rosa sheriff's Capt. Woody Seevers.
Highway Patrol chase policy
The Florida Highway Patrol outlines when a trooper should engage in a vehicle pursuit and when to end the pursuit. Sheriff's offices often use similar guidelines, said trooper spokesman Lt. Tommie Moore.
According to the FHP policy manual, as shown on the highway patrol's Web site:
Members may pursue, attempt to stop and apprehend as expeditiously and safely as possible any person in a vehicle who the member reasonably believes has committed or attempted to commit a crime of violence. All other vehicular pursuits are prohibited.
Every member is responsible for determining whether a pursuit is permitted by this policy prior to engaging in a pursuit.
Once a pursuit has begun, the member shall notify the communications center.
The member or supervisor must end the pursuit when hazards created by the pursuit outweigh the necessity for immediate apprehension.
In the event of an equipment failure that could result in the unsafe operation of the patrol vehicle during a pursuit, such pursuit shall be stopped.
At any time a pursuit is stopped, the communications center should be notified.