CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Two people are behind bars after the Clay County Sheriff’s Office says they tried to steal a car and run away.
Deputies arrested 34-year-old William Tracy White and 32-year-old Amanda Jean Strickland in Orange Park.
Investigators say they got an alert from a license plate reader that a white Volkswagen sedan was stolen around 3:30 pm Monday near Blanding Boulevard and Camp Francis Johnson Road.
Deputies quickly hit the area and found the stolen car.
“The suspect in the car fled and actually hit a patrol car and a citizen’s vehicle,” said Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook. “Nobody was hurt in that hit-and-run.”
Sheriff Cook says the suspects continued driving the car on Blanding Boulevard until they both bailed and ran in opposite directions.
Strickland was arrested quickly on Blanding Blvd. White managed to break into a homeowner’s detached garage on Grafton Drive to hide.
“The homeowner of the house intervened and actually shot the suspect who had entered his detached garage,” said Sheriff Cook. “The suspect was shot in the leg by the homeowner.”
“When I saw the ropes, I thought somebody had died,” said Anita Jones.
Jones lives around the corner from where the suspect was shot. She wasn’t home when it happened but tells Action News Jax nothing like this has happened since she moved into the neighborhood four years ago.
“I can’t believe it happened here,” said Jones. “Hey, you what? If they stole a car and he ran in my house, I’d shoot him too.”
Deputies say there is no active threat to the community at this time.
Sheriff Cook says White has two outstanding warrants for grand theft and armed robbery.
We’re working to find out what both suspects will be charged with.
Sheriff Cook says White has two outstanding warrants for grand theft and armed robbery.
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