VERO BEACH — Two teens have been arrested and charged with carjacking with a firearm after an armed robbery on Thursday morning, according to Lt. John Pedersen of the Vero Beach Police Department.
Their alleged accomplice, 20-year-old Julius Belle, is being held on $10,000 bond for theft and resisting arrest without violence.
The minors accused in the incident are 16 and 17 years old. Due to their ages, VeroNews.com has declined to name them.
The robbery occurred at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 7 at RMR Car Wash located at 3306 US 1, according to an official arrest report.
Chasmin Jones was vacuuming a Dodge Avenger rental car at the car wash when a Dodge Durango pulled up next to him and two black males with black t-shirts wrapped around their heads approached him. Jones noticed a third black male, later identified as Belle, still seated in the Durango.
When one of the juveniles pointed a revolver at the victim, he fled toward US 1 in fear for his life. He was able to flag down a passerby who happened to be driving south on US 1 at the time of the incident. The driver assisted Jones in contacting law enforcement.
Jones observed the two men drive away in his rental car. Also inside the car, Jones told authorities, was a cell phone and $200 in cash.
Multiple Sheriff cruisers pursued the stolen vehicle that drove at a high rate of speed south on Old Dixie Highway before turning west on Oslo Road, refusing to stop for authorities.
The Dodge Avenger crashed into a westbound vehicle at the intersection of 10th Court SW and 11th Street SW, according to the report.
Police observed three black males flee the car as it was still moving but rendered useless after the crash, according to the report.
A St. Lucie K-9 tracked Belle who was hiding in the woods behind an abandoned house near the site of the crash. A cell phone identified as belonging to Jones was found on Belle and a handgun was found on the floor of the crashed vehicle.
Shortly after Belle was apprehended, a K-9 tracked two juveniles, ages 16 and 17 and found them both in the abandoned house Belle was found behind. Once a K-9 announcement was made, both defendants gave themselves up to police according to the report.
According to Lt. Matt Harrelson of the Vero Beach Police Department, Belle was not charged with carjacking with a firearm after video surveillance revealed him as the third party who remained inside the vehicle at the time of the carjacking.
