ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. — A wanted man in Pasco County surrendered to deputies after leading them on a dangerous chase.
Chase Johnson, 19, shot at deputies from the drivers side of his vehicle as they pursued him before he lost control and crashed into a pond. Johnson was wanted for armed home invasion robbery and carjacking. Deputies said they were also searching for him because they accused him of multiple burglaries in the county.
Captain Tait Sanborn said the team they deployed to look for Johnson is known as the STAR Team. Their mission is to decrease property and violent crimes in the county. He said their planning helped keep everyone safe, Thursday night.
An informant told deputies where Johnson would be, so authorities set up units in multiple locations and deployed stop sticks to catch him.
As two deputies in separate vehicles were sitting in the middle of Ryals Rd they saw the suspect driving northbound. He made eye contact with them before speeding up, striking one of their vehicles. He kept driving, eventually hitting the stop sticks.
Johnson continued driving as his tires went flat. As deputies followed the slowing suspect he pulled a handgun out of the drivers side window and began shooting at them. As he was shooting, a deputy used his vehicle to strike the suspect's several times to try and stop him.
The suspect continued driving before losing control of his vehicle, running off the road and into a pond. A deputy was then able to talk the suspect into surrendering.
Following the chase, Johnson was checked by fire rescue before being medically cleared and taken into custody. He now faces charges for attempted felony murder, in addition to the previous charges he was wanted for.
According to Captain Sanborn, authorities have dealt with Johnson 56 times. They said they arrested him 26 of those incidents.
