SEBASTIAN — Eddie Mitchner, 19, of Sebastian, is being held on $68,000 bond after he fled from police in a stolen Chevy Cruz and ended up in the backyard of a Sebastian residence where children were playing in a swimming pool.
According to the official arrest affidavit, the arresting officer began pursuing Mitchner in Gifford and continued to chase him south on 40th Avenue with his lights and sirens on.
When the officer lost sight of the vehicle he used the car’s On Star system to continue tracking Mitchner who was then traveling north toward Sebastian. The officer caught up to Mitchner who was driving at speeds over 60 miles per hour through the City of Sebastian, according to the arrest report.
After weaving through neighborhoods, Mitchner abandoned the vehicle in a ditch off Spinnaker Lane between Midvale Terrace and Joy Haven Drive. Onlookers pointed law enforcement to the direction Mitchner took on foot, according to the report.
Mitchner jumped the fence into a residential yard where children were playing in the pool, the report states. The homeowner and father of the children heard the kids screaming and found Mitchner who was attempting to enter his home.
According to the report, Mitchner repeatedly told the homeowner “that he was not a bad guy and was trying to hide.”
“Mitchner grabbed onto the door and attempted to enter the residence” before the homeowner forced his hand off the doorknob, the report continues.
Mitchner was arrested near the residence soon after.
He is currently being held in the Indian River County Jail on felony charges of burglary and flee and elude, and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest without violence and driving without a License.
The Chevy Cruz was confirmed stolen by the Cocoa Police Department.
