PALM COAST, Fla. – Less than 24 hours after a high-speed chase and eventual capture of a man wanted by police in Rhode Island, Flagler County deputies have released videos of the chase and arrest.
RELATED: Man in custody after high-speed stolen Ferrari chase involving Flagler, St. Johns deputies
Johnathan Costa, 19, of Cranston, Rhode Island remains in the Flagler County jail on a fugitive warrant out of Rhode Island where he and Logan Slezak, 18, of Pawtucket Rhode Island face charges in connection to an armed home invasion.
Slezak was captured in Rhode Island Tuesday and made his first appearance in court Wednesday morning.
Costa was captured in Palm Coast Tuesday afternoon after leading St. Johns County deputies and Flagler County Sheriff deputies on a high-speed chase.
The chase began on I-95 in St. Johns County before it extended into Flagler County along Palm Coast Parkway where according to investigators, speeds during the chase were well beyond 100 mph.
FCSO released surveillance camera and dashcam footage of the chase. In two of the videos, the speeding Ferrari went through an intersection and nearly collided with a truck.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst, Tom Hackney reviewed the surveillance video and keyed on the near collision between the Ferrari and the truck.
“I was happy to see the truck driver had the reaction time to get out of the way. It’s just by sheer luck and grace that no one was killed,” Hackney said.
In the dashcam video, the Ferrari was going so fast that even a FCSO Ford Mustang appeared unable to keep up.
According to vehicle specifications, the $300,000 Ferrari that was stolen is capable of reaching speeds of 200 mph.
“Those speeds that car can hit are close to NASCAR speeds. Even the supped-up police Ford Mustang with a beefed-up suspension, bigger engine, and bigger breaks is no competition for a $300,000 Ferrari. You’re not going to catch it,” Hackney said.
While Hackney admits pursuing a stolen Ferrari is dangerous, law enforcement weighs the dangers of the pursuit versus the danger posed by the driver of that stolen Ferrari who is presumed armed and dangerous and a threat to the public in general, especially when law enforcement receives information that the driver is a suspect in an armed home invasion and has eluded law enforcement in other jurisdictions.
The chase ended when deputies could no longer keep up with the stolen Ferrari, but investigators said thanks to surveillance cameras and a police helicopter that was equipped with a Forward-Looking Infrared Camera (FLIR), deputies were able to not only track a heat signature from the car, but they were also able to pinpoint a general area of where the vehicle might be located.
Investigators said that technology led to deputies concentrating their search in a residential area not far from US Hwy 1.
An hour after the chase ended, a deputy located the stolen Ferrari behind a home on Royal Palm Lane and then called for backup. When it was obvious that people were inside the home, deputies used a loudspeaker to order everyone out.
Stolen Ferrari found at Palm Coast residence on Royal Palm Lane (WJXT)
Bodycam video showed heavily armed deputies surrounding the house as the people inside were ordered to come out. Eventually, Costa exited the house and was taken into custody without incident. A second man was also taken into custody, detained for questioning, and then later released.
Meanwhile, back in Rhode Island, a prosecutor who spoke during Slezak’s first appearance in court told the judge that in the early morning hours of Oct. 24, 2023, Slezak and Costa had on masks and were armed when they entered a home occupied by a married couple and their two children.
The prosecutor said they demanded one of the adult victims, hand over keys to a Corvette and a Ferrari 488 Spider. According to the prosecutor, Slezak and Costa left the house in the Ferrari because the Corvette was at another location.
A Be on the Lookout (BOLO) went out to law enforcement about a distinctive-looking stolen Ferrari. The following day, the Ferrari was spotted at a home in Clinton, Connecticut.
Police spoke with the homeowner who said her nephew, Johnathan Costa, and his friend Logan Slezak had been riding in the Ferrari. Surveillance video and statements provided by a witness led police in Rhode Island to obtain an arrest warrant for both men.
Hackney said the investigation into the stolen Ferrari is far from over because detectives are likely looking into whether both suspects are part of a much bigger theft ring involving expensive cars.
“As a police officer, you want to look into what could have happened,” Hackney said. “Could this be a piece of a bigger thing, a larger ring? These cars get taken and they get stripped, and exported overseas, and put into shipping containers. A lot of things happen to these cars. So, when you see this kind of thing, it’s not like this was taken by a valet driver where they have the keys. This was taken by a forceable felony at gunpoint at someone’s home and that ups the ante of how that car came into the suspect’s existence.”
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Publish date : 2024-08-28 13:00:00
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