17-year-old shot, 19-year-old arrested after '100 mph' police chase through Haines City

A 17-year-old boy was shot Friday evening by a Haines City police officer and a 19-year-old arrested after a long, high-speed chase through Haines City in a stolen car, authorities said.

Haines City Police Chief Greg Goreck and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd briefed the media late Friday about the incident, which started about 7 p.m. on U.S. 27.

Goreck said one of his officers in the city limits of Haines City spotted a Nissan Versa that had been stolen within the past 24 hours. He said the officer followed the vehicle until backup arrived, then tried to stop the car.

"The people driving the vehicle could've ended this and stopped this by pulling over and doing the right thing," Goreck said. "They chose instead to flee. My officers, realizing this vehicle is a 2,400-pound missile (and) could place other lives in danger, so they did attempt to stop the vehicle, and they initiated a pursuit."

Goreck said that during the pursuit, the fleeing vehicle hit another vehicle near near U.S. 27 and Polk City Road. Officers called the collision in to get attention for the occupants and carried on the pursuit.

But as the chase reached a residential area, he said, "My officers decided that the risk to apprehend them was not outweighed by the possible danger to the public. So my officers slowed down, discontinued and went the other way."

The suspects continued to drive recklessly, he said, and a Polk County sheriff's deputy in the area had pulled over and was ready to deploy stop sticks along U.S. 27. The suspects drove off the road and hit the stop sticks, and the pursuit continued northbound on U.S. 27, sometimes reaching speeds of 100 mph.

During the second pursuit, the fleeing car struck another vehicle. Goreck said a Haines City officer conducted a PIT maneuver, in which he used his car to disable the fleeing vehicle. The vehicles came to a rest on the shoulder of U.S. 27 just north of Heller Brothers Boulevard and south of Ernie Caldwell Boulevard in unincorporated Davenport.

"During that encounter, my officer was forced to engage in a deadly encounter with the suspect and had to fire his firearm," Goreck said. "The suspect was reaching for a firearm, and the suspect was immobilized and was able to be taken into custody. That was the passenger in the vehicle. The driver was also taken into custody."

The 17-year-old, Judd said, was reaching for a 9-mm Smith and Wesson handgun when Haines City Officer Sean Bruner fired his weapon.

Judd said the backup officers arrived within seconds of the gunshots and provided aid immediately.

Judd said the driver, Victor Espinoza-Rodriguez, 19, of Haines City had tattoos that appeared to be gang affiliations. "It's early in the investigation of his gang status." In the car, Judd said, investigators found marijuana, cannabis vape cartridges and a bong, a type of water pipe commonly used to smoke marijuana.

"So in addition to felony possession of marijuana with intent to sell, in addition to the stolen vehicle, in addition to aggravated assault with this firearm on our officers, we also have them barreling down the road in this 2,500-pound missile and striking at least two other vehicles," Judd said. "And this driver had been arrested a year ago."

Judd said the 17-year-old, from Lake Hamilton, was in emergency surgery Friday night at a local trauma center listed in critical condition. In accordance with company crime-reporting guidelines, The Ledger refrains from publishing the names of juvenile crime suspects in most cases.

Of Officer Bruner, Judd said, "he's a five-year veteran, he's an exceptionally outstanding police officer. He was the one who placed his life in danger, who stood in the gap between good and evil to stop these violent felons from their conduct."

Judd said the car had been stolen in Poinciana between 10 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. Friday. "Did I tell you that she left the keys in the vehicle and the vehicle unlocked?"

He said the handgun was not reported stolen, and authorities don't yet know where it came from.

Two investigations on Driggers Road:Sheriff's Office looking for a 21-year-old Lakeland man and investigating a woman's death

"We were able to take this very violent pair of felons into custody, not the way we would have preferred, but the way they demanded, this evening," Judd said. "Thankfully, our hero, our Haines City police officers and our backup deputies, were not injured in the process."

Of the two vehicles that were hit during the chase, an occupant of one of them complained of some pain and police suggested they go to the hospital to be checked out, Judd said.

Judd said at the beginning of the briefing that he's in charge of the Officer Involved Deadly Incident Task Force. "Our State Attorney Brian Haas has created a task force so that when there's an officer-involved shooting that the lead detectives don't come from the agency that does the shooting. So we are in charge of this investigation."