NAPLES
Two teenagers were arrested late Wednesday night after police say they were found in a stolen car and the driver dove off of the Naples City Dock while trying to escape.
According to the Naples Police Department, information came in around 11:30 p.m. indicating a stolen 2019 Honda Accord was traveling west on 5th Avenue South into the city jurisdiction. Shortly before midnight, officers found the vehicle in the parking lot of Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar, located at 1220 3rd St. S. Additional units responded to the area prior to checking the vehicle. Three teenagers, two boys and a girl, who were earlier seen walking on the Naples Pier, began to walk back toward the car.
As the teenagers got into the Honda, officers entered the parking lot and ordered the driver to stop the car. The teenage girl in the front passenger seat opened her door and was detained by police. The driver, being ordered at gunpoint to get out of the car, sped away from the officers. NPD placed stop sticks in the alley between Tommy Bahama and Sea Salt, disabling the car as the Collier County Sheriff’s Office joined the pursuit.
The vehicle stopped at the Naples City Dock and the driver ran away, leaving the rear passenger to surrender to deputies. Deputies chased the driver onto the Naples City Dock, where he jumped into the water before being caught.
The teenage driver admitted he didn’t have a valid driver’s license. He and the girl were searched and found to possess marijuana. The other teenage boy, a reported missing juvenile, was not charged and was returned home to his dad.
The driver faces charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle (less than $100,000), fleeing a law enforcement officer, resisting without violence, possession of cannabis (20 grams or less), driving without a license, and violating a city ordinance (for entering the dock after 10 p.m.).
The teenage girl faces a charge of possession of cannabis (20 grams or less).
WINK NEWS