The suspect, who has not been named, was “immediately captured by deputies” after stealing the slow-moving cart from golfers who were playing at Hammock Creek Golf Course in Palm City, the sheriff’s office said in a press release that was also posted to social media.
The person was one of three or four individuals who fled on foot after allegedly bailing from a car which had been stolen from a Palm City gas station. The suspects led officers on a pursuit before crashing the vehicle close to Leighton Farms Road, police said Saturday.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said it is believed that the suspects stole a number of vehicles at the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in Stuart before stealing the vehicle.
Investigators confirmed that he hunt remains ongoing for the remaining suspect, or suspects, and noted a handgun had been stolen from one of the vehicles at the Cracker Barrel. The group of thieves are also suspects in crimes in counties south of Martin County.
“We are asking all Palm City residents to remain vigilant and call 911 if you see anything or anyone suspicious,” the sheriff’s office said in a brief statement posted to Facebook alongside images of two arrested men and the stolen vehicle. A fourth image showed the crash scene.
Golf carts getaways are surprisingly common, but appear to rarely end in success. On August 16 this year, police in Roseville, California, arrested a man who allegedly stole a cart while trying to flee from officers. The suspect, Timothy John Davis Pulley, 28, was accused of a series of crimes, which included a carjacking, a hit and run, and crashing a vehicle into a fence.
Later the same month, on August 29, police in Missouri arrested a man who allegedly fled from a Fulton residence on foot after hitting a homeowner with a stolen golf cart.
Back in February, a 42-year-old Georgia man was apprehended by police after allegedly stealing a golf cart and refusing to stop for chasing officers, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
According to an arrest report, the suspect, James Paul Cogan, had been wearing “absolutely no pants or underwear of any kind” during the incident and the golf cart had “a completely open cab with no doors where any passing motorist could easily see [the man’s] genitals.” Cogan, also accused of burglarizing a home, admitting to using methamphetamine, marijuana and alcohol, 11Alive reported.
