ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A man accused of going on a crime spree in St. Johns County was arrested Tuesday.
Joshua Nelson, 22, is facing seven charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said deputies tried pulling over Nelson on S.R. 16 for driving a stolen U-Haul truck, but he refused to stop.
Two stop sticks were deployed at C.R. 16A and Athens Drive and in the 2900 block of S.R. 16, according to deputies.
Investigators said Nelson intentionally rammed into a vehicle that was in his way on S.R. 16 near I-95. The driver of that vehicle was not hurt.
Will Gresham said he was on his way into work when he saw the chaos on the road.
“Most definitely it was a chase. I mean, he was flying,” Gresham said. “Every cop and their brother was behind him.”
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The report said Nelson turned south onto Four Mile Road and plowed straight through a roundabout. He continued onto W. King Street and made a right onto S. Whitney Street, where he ditched the truck.
The suspect was riding on rims and left marks in the pavement for miles.
Gresham said he followed the tracks from S.R. 16 to find out where the truck ended up.
“I would’ve never imagined he would go this far,” Gresham said. “If you follow the tracks there’s a lot of swerves in there. He didn’t have a whole lot of control.”
SJSO said Nelson ran from the truck, but was captured on Lena Street.
The investigation revealed the U-Haul truck was reported stolen out of Duval County a couple of days ago, according to SJSO.
The report said Nelson was on felony probation for armed robbery and has never been issued a driver’s license.
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