Video: Stolen Car Suspect Lands in Pond During Chase with Fla. Deputies

May 28, 2025

Manatee County sheriff's deputies used spike strips to stop a fleeing suspect in a stolen vehicle, its damaged tires throwing off sparks as the car crashed into a retention pond.

By Michael Moore Jr.

Source The Bradenton Herald

A man crashed a stolen car into a retention pond Tuesday night after leading deputies on a brief chase through Manatee County, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies arrested Brendarius Pittman, 27, on charges of grand theft auto, fleeing to elude, driving with a suspended license and possession of marijuana, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Body camera and aerial video footage released by the agency on social media show deputies deploying spike strips at 63rd Avenue East and 15th Street East as the stolen vehicle approached at high speed.

“Spikes were successful. I got at least the front two tires,” one deputy says in the video.

In the video, the car continued driving on damaged tires and throwing sparks before crashing into a retention pond along University Parkway.

Deputies say the video shows Pittman climb out of the vehicle and wade through the water before walking onto the sidewalk, where deputies ordered him to the ground and arrested him.

Pittman was booked into the Manatee County Jail, where he remains in custody on $3,150 bond as of Friday morning, according to the sheriff’s office website.

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