Armed carjacking goes wrong when truck driver refuses to cooperate, Florida cops say

An attempted carjacking quickly went wrong for an armed felon when the victim refused to cooperate, according to investigators in Florida.

The 30-year-old suspect flashed a gun and demanded to be let into the victim’s work truck, and that’s when things started to go wrong, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in an affidavit.

Instead of complying, the victim ignored the gun, refused to unlock the door and drove away, the sheriff’s office said.

It happened around 4:20 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 2, when the victim reached a stop sign near Winter Haven, about a 50-mile drive east from Tampa.

“A male ... walked out in front of his truck, preventing him from continuing to travel. The suspect approached the passenger side of his truck (and) attempted to get in the truck by pulling on the door handle and appearing to make a finger gun motion and gestured toward his pants,” the sheriff’s office said.

“When the suspect couldn’t get in, he lifted his shirt and displayed what appeared to be a black handgun tucked in his pants.”

That’s when the driver calmly “drove the truck away” and called 911.

A deputy and his K9 partner, appropriately named Ketchum, found the suspect on foot about four blocks away and he “ended up losing his race with Ketchum.”

Under questioning, the man revealed “he was high on PCP and meth” and didn’t remember being involved in a carjacking — or why he was running from the dog, officials said.

He was charged with:

• Attempted armed carjacking
• Aggravated assault
• Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
• Resisting arrest

“Ketchum got some belly rubs and a treat for doing such a great job!” the sheriff’s office said.

This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 7:21 AM with the headline "Armed carjacking goes wrong when truck driver refuses to cooperate, Florida cops say."