Haines City Police Department Press Release
Man faces deportation after stealing city vehicle, prompting police pursuit
HAINES CITY, FL – Pedro Ayala Flores, 24, of 232 N. 24th St. in Haines City, was arrested Monday afternoon after stealing a city vehicle, which prompted a police pursuit.
Before 3:45 p.m. Monday, a city employee was inspecting a well at a city water plant, 2003 Angle Ave. The employee left the keys to a 2002 white Ford Ranger, with a city crest on both side doors, inside the truck as he made the routine inspection.
When the employee finished inspecting the well, he noticed a man in the driver’s seat of the city vehicle. The employee watched the man, later identified as Flores, speed away in the vehicle despite the employee’s demands for him to stop. Flores drove the truck through the security fence and the employee called 911.
Officers Ryon Green and George Gonzalez located the stolen city truck and began pursuing the truck in a marked Police Department car, activating lights and sirens in the area of Laurel Hills and South 10th Street. Flores refused to stop, causing officers to utilize the PIT maneuver, which forced the stolen vehicle into the concrete sign at Advance Auto Parts, 1015 E. Hinson Ave.
Both vehicles sustained about $1,000 worth of damages. The damage to the security fence at the water plant is estimated at $5,000 and the now cracked concrete sign at the auto parts store is estimated to have sustained about $4,000 in damages.
The man was apprehended and identified as Flores by a Mexican Consular ID issued in 2016; given the card’s poor print quality, inconsistency in texture and that the photo is generated on the laminate that has been detached from the card itself, there was reason to believe the card was fraudulent. Flores’ fingerprints revealed no records. He has no driver’s license.
Flores is being charged with burglary with damage over $1,000, fleeing to allude, grand theft auto, felony criminal mischief, possessing a fraudulent ID and driving without a license among other civil violations. The Department of Homeland Security has obtained a warrant for deportation for Flores.
“Mr.Flores not only damaged both public and private property, but he put a lot of people in harm’s way with his actions,” Chief Jim Elensky said. “I can’t say enough about the job our officers did to make sure that no one, including Mr. Flores, was seriously injured.”
