Palmetto Police catch suspected car thieves after chase through Manatee County

UPDATED at 1 p.m. Tuesday to CORRECT make of suspect vehicle.

PALMETTO, Fla. (WWSB) - Three suspected car thieves are in jail Tuesday after they led Palmetto Police on a chase ending in two crashes, authorities said.

At about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, Palmetto Police officers got a report that a Subaru stolen in Hernando County was sitting in the Walmart parking lot on U.S. 301, Police Chief Scott Tyler said.

When they arrived, they found the Subaru, alongside a Maserati reported stolen from Hillsborough County.

When officers approached the vehicles, both fled eastbound on U.S. 301. The Maserati crashed at U.S. 301 and Ellenton-Gillette Road. The driver hopped into the Subaru, which continued east to Interstate 75, where it went south.

The Subaru exited onto State Road 70 and crashed into a retention area, Tyler said. The three occupants fled into a nearby shopping center.

Two were caught by Palmetto Police officers inside a store; the third was apprehended by Manatee County Sheriff’s deputies in a nearby wooded area.

One of the three suspects sustained an apparent ankle injury. There were no other reported injuries during the incident, Tyler said.

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