Photo credit: Isabel Rosales (@WFTSisabel) | Twitter

Sheriff's Deputies say they have identified the three teenagers who were killed in a stolen Ford Explorer near Palm Harbor today.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash">#BREAKING</a>: 3 people dead in car crash "as a result of law enforcement action" says Pinellas county sheriff's office. Press conference soon <a href="https://t.co/ItzqmXEec1">pic.twitter.com/ItzqmXEec1</a></p>— Isabel Rosales (@WFTSisabel) <a href="https://twitter.com/WFTSisabel/status/894179580210229248">August 6, 2017</a></blockquote>

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Three suspects are considered as fatalities, while one is in critical condition, and two others are in custody after a crime spree that ended tragically.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Three boys dead after fiery crash in stolen SUV, Pinellas sheriff says <a href="https://t.co/ELLfJ5UYG8">https://t.co/ELLfJ5UYG8</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/TB_Times">@TB_Times</a> <a href="https://t.co/JFMiGOPk9B">pic.twitter.com/JFMiGOPk9B</a></p>— @TB_TimesCurso (@TB_TimesCurso) <a href="https://twitter.com/TB_TimesCurso/status/894213877411569664">August 6, 2017</a></blockquote>

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Law enforcement officials say that 16 year old Keontae Brown, 14 year old Jimmie Goshey and 16 year old Dejarae Thomas were all killed after after crashing the stolen vehicle. Another 14 year old victim who was also in the Explorer and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Officers say they first spotted the stolen Ford Explorer at around 1:30 AM Sunday and immediately recognized the vehicle from reports of the theft, but it sped away when they attempted to pull it over.

As not to endanger the community officers decided not to pursue the vehicle at the time. There was also a stolen Chrysler Sebring following the Explorer which was not pursued either.

A bit later around 4 AM a second Deputy spotted both stolen cars go into the East Lake Woodlands residential area, and a Sheriff’s helicopter was sent out to locate the suspects and place a perimeter around the community, but the cars were not located.

Another deputy was headed west on Tampa Road and witnessed both stolen cars heading westbound, playing what the sheriff described as a “cat and mouse game” where one car slows and the other speeds up.

The Deputy then tried to stop the Explorer, but Sheriff Gualtieri says the driver sped away at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour.

When the Sebring inevitably slowed down, the Deputy then made a U-turn and started heading east.

According to the pursuing officer, the Explorer then went through the intersection of US-19 and Tampa Road, crashing into a random vehicle which was driven by 29 year old Ricky Melendez. That driver suffered minor injuries as a result of the crash.

Sheriff Gualtieri says the Explorer then went airborne and crashed into multiple cars in a car lot. The car then rolled, flipped and hit several other objects in a brutal crash.

Two of the boys were found dead inside the Explorer. One was ejected and also was deceased. The survivor was taken to All Children’s Hospital.

Deputies say they later found the abandoned Sebring close to the intersection of US-19 and Sunset Point Road. The two teens who had ditched the car were taken into custody with help from the K9 Unit, 18 year old Kamal Campbell and an unnamed 16 year old boy, are both in custody.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"These kids slipped through the cracks again. Somehow whatever it is we're doing did not protect them." <a href="https://t.co/NDsKHWDd49">https://t.co/NDsKHWDd49</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TB_Times">@TB_Times</a></p>— Zack Sampson (@ZackSampson) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZackSampson/status/894256510062252032">August 6, 2017</a></blockquote>

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Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said that the suspects were “prolific offenders” with extensive criminal backgrounds even at their young age. Some of them were released from the local jail as recently as a few days ago.

“When you have 14, 15 and 16 year olds that are dying because of their actions it needs to stop,” he said.

Sheriff Gualtieri says it is a trend the sheriff’s office has seen over the last 18 months; teens stealing cars, driving into suburban neighborhoods and taking whatever they can steal to sell for quick cash.

The Sheriff believes that is exactly what the three teenage boys were doing before they crashed and died Sunday morning in Palm Harbor.

“One of these deceased kids that is sitting in that car across the street still has gloves on his hands from doing the car burglaries,” said Gualtieri during a news conference.

“One of them got released on July 31st, stole this car on August 3rd, and now is dead,” Gualtieri said.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office believes these individuals amongst others are involved in a network of home invasion and burglaries in the region. The crimes occurred in North Clearwater, East Lake, Safety Harbor and Palm Harbor area that could be related to the crash. If you have information that could identify the suspects or any others involved, you’re asked to call (727) 582-6200.

Source:

http://wfla.com/2017/08/06/3-dead-after-crash-in-pinellas-county-sheriff-to-hold-news-conference/