SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- Police said a teenager robbed a liquor store in Longwood and nearly ran over officers when he tried to escape Monday night.
Discount Liquor Store owner Miah Farid said that Derek Barth, 17, went into his store, grabbed a case of Captain Morgan rum, pretended he was paying for it and left the store.
"He (Barth) was pretending he was paying. He didn't pay and just left. I was chasing him all the way to his car," Farid said.
But Farid said that Barth showed him a gun and threatened to shoot him.
"He just (lifted his shirt), showed me the gun, and said, 'I'm going to shoot you.' I didn't know if it was fake or real, but it scared me," Farid said.
Farid said the $325 case of liquor isn't worth his life, so he let Barth go and called police, who pulled Barth's SUV over about 4 miles away.
"When the officer gave him (Barth) commands to exit his vehicle, he threw the vehicle into drive," Cmdr. David Dowda, of the Longwood Police Department, said.
Police said that Barth tried to run down the officers who pulled him over and actually dragged one officer as he took off.
Investigators said the officer had been reaching in Barth's window to put it in park when he sped off, scraping the officer as he dragged him.
Police said they chased the SUV for about 1.5 miles; and then Barth lost control around a curve, crashed into a tree and took off running.
Officers said they had to use a Taser to take him down.
"I'm sure officers felt that was the safest way to do it," Dowda said.
Police said they walked Barth out of South Seminole Hospital to take him straight to juvenile jail.
Farid said that Barth isn't even old enough to legally drink the liquor that made him face felony charges.
"I hope he learns his lesson," Farid said.
The attorney general said he will decide if Barth will face the felony charges as an adult.
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