Introduction
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Three suspected armed intruders were arrested this week after police said they crashed a car while being chased by a homeowner who discovered they had stolen a large amount of cash from his residence.
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The victim said that during the pursuit, he rammed the suspect’s vehicle multiple times in an attempt to stop it, and after the final impact, the vehicle crashed.
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Three suspects have been charged with home invasion robbery with a deadly weapon.
west bay florida – Three suspected armed intruders were arrested this week after police said they crashed a car while being chased by a homeowner who discovered they had stolen a large amount of cash from his residence.
Backstory
According to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, on February 10, the victim reported that two masked suspects entered his home and stole a large amount of cash.
He went on to say that he confronted the suspects and chased them outside.
The suspect then got into an SUV and fled.
The victim told deputies he followed the suspects and chased their vehicle off Langdon Road. Take Highway 388 east.
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The victim said that during the pursuit, he rammed the suspect’s vehicle multiple times in an attempt to stop it.
After the final impact, deputies said the suspect’s vehicle swerved and crashed into a ditch, and the suspect ran into the woods.
Investigators said they found a large amount of cash inside the vehicle and on the ground near the driver’s door.
Photo courtesy of Bay County Sheriff’s Office
The cash appeared to match the money the victim said was taken during the break-in, they added.
Dig deeper
The victim told deputies that one of the suspects, 22-year-old Sarra Swartz, called him and said she got his phone number from a mutual friend and wanted to go to his house.
The victim said she could come over and she stayed there for approximately 15-30 minutes.
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He added that while Swartz was at his home, he displayed a large amount of cash while giving money to his girlfriend and believed she may have seen it.
After Swartz left, the victim told deputies he fell asleep and was woken up by his girlfriend screaming that someone was trying to steal his money.
The victim reportedly saw two masked men at his home.
He described one of them as a tall white male and the other as a short black male armed with a baseball bat.
The victim’s girlfriend reported seeing a gun on one of the suspects.
Officers detained 37-year-old James Crow in the woods. They said that after the Miranda incident, he provided details of two other suspects and events that occurred before and after the robbery.
Investigators later found Swartz walking along a road west of the crash site.
A short time later, deputies found the suspect, DeVarius Stewart, sitting in the passenger seat of a car parked in the area. Initially, deputies said Stewart refused to exit the vehicle, but was eventually detained and taken to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
Swartz, Crowe and Stewart were arrested and charged with home invasion with a deadly weapon.
The investigation is ongoing.
source
This article was written based on information released by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.