ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Brandon Rich is no stranger to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office. Deputies say they know him well, and he's just 17 years old.
"He's a convicted felon, multiple felony charges throughout the northeast Florida area," said Sheriff David Shoar.
Sheriff Shoar says one of his deputies noticed Rich and Kimberly Davis, 31, walking towards a silver SUV Thursday morning. After running the plates, the deputy knew the SUV had been stolen from Hastings.
"The deputy gave orders for the folks to get on the ground," said the sheriff. "The 17 year old entered the vehicle, reached into the center console, refused to follow commands of the deputy and was shot once in the leg by the deputy."
Action News has now learned there were more than 75 pieces of crack cocaine found inside the stolen SUV, near the center console.
The teenager was taken to the hospital with a leg wound. It's a wound the Sheriff says he wouldn't have gotten if he had just done what the deputy told him to do.
"If you approach a stolen vehicle or if you're in a stolen vehicle and you're given commands by law enforcement and you don't follow them, you run the risk of getting shot," he said.
Rich is out of the hospital, and inside the St. Johns County Jail, where charges are mounting.
Davis, 31, was also arrested on probation violation charges.
The deputy who fired his weapon is a veteran with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, with more than two decades on the force. He has been put on paid administrative leave until the investigation is complete, which is standard procedure in all police shootings.
