ORLANDO, Fla. (WESH) – “I like almost had a heart attack over there because my parents were like, ‘what happened, what happened, what happened?’ and I’m like, ‘a car almost hit me.”
Eleven-year-old Julius Vargas was mowing his lawn Wednesday when a car carrying three armed robbery suspects inside drove through his yard trying to flee from law enforcement.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said the incident first started when one of those suspects robbed someone at gunpoint at the Circle K on Aloma Avenue around 11:30 a.m.
Deputies believe the suspect and victim knew each other.
Just a few hours later, investigators spotted an Audi connected to the robbery.
Deputies say they used stop sticks to flatten the car’s tires, instead of chasing after it.
The three suspects bailed from the car less than two miles away from Vargas’ home.
WESH 2 News’ helicopter was able to see the suspects jumping over fences and through people’s yards.
“I looked out the window and there were just police cars coming up and down,” said neighbor Mindy Machock. “We saw two of them go down that way really fast and then there was an officer that came and ran and he jumped over that fence and they were looking everywhere.”
“This vehicle is stolen, was stolen last night from the Orlando Police Department’s jurisdiction,” said Christian Marrero with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. “So we’re just trying to determine what exactly everyone’s involvement was.”
This chase terrified people living nearby, including the preteen who was told to mow his lawn after school.
“I [thought I] was going to die. Honestly, I was probably not going to make it. That dude was going to hit that and then the car was going to swerve and hit me,” Vargas said.
The sheriff’s office said all three of the suspects in this case are juveniles and will face criminal charges, however, those charges have not been specified yet.
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