Marion County Deputy Flips Stolen Truck with PIT Maneuver, Finds 2 Eustis Teens Inside

OCALA, Florida—Two Eustis teens, well-known to Lake County law enforcement were arrested Wednesday after fleeing from a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy in a truck stolen from Lake County earlier this week.

Robert “Swag” Sharp, 16, was driving the stolen 2010 white Ford F150 truck when a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy located it near Dogwood Road and Southeast 58^th Avenue Wednesday night. The truck, reported stolen from Grand Island, contained a firearm, according to MCSO.

The deputy attempted to pull the truck over, and Sharp fled, running several stop signs and red lights and driving into oncoming traffic. The MCSO deputy performed a PIT maneuver, flipping the truck and ending the pursuit around 9 p.m. A PIT maneuver, (precision immobilization technique,) is a tactic in which a law enforcement vehicle sideswipes the suspect vehicle’s rear to cause the rear wheels to lose traction, usually resulting in the driver losing control of the vehicle.

A witness told Inside Lake, the truck flipped on its side near a busy CVS Pharmacy and deputies immediately searched it once it was back on its wheels.

Sharp was found in the truck near the stolen firearm and had a small amount of marijuana on him; his backseat passenger, Jaiden Vickers, 18, was also found with a small amount of marijuana, arrested and transported to the Marion County Jail (MCJ.)

Sharp was arrested for fleeing and eluding, grand theft auto, grand theft of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor and possession of marijuana under 20 grams. He was transported to MCJ and turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Vickers was arrested in January 2021 after a loaded gun was found in his backpack at Eustis High School, along with three different pills, including Ritalin. Vickers told a Lake County Sheriff’s Office school resource deputy he belonged to “Folk Nation, Gangsta Disciples” and denied knowledge of the gun. in 2021 The SRD spoke to Vickers’ father and he said the boy posted a photo of himself holding a gun on Instagram and had his phone taken away as punishment, according to that arrest affidavit.

Sharp was arrested last year for his involvement in a drive-by shooting in the 1200 block of East Hazzard Avenue on Feb. 7, 2022. That shooting was part of a longstanding juvenile gang rivalry, Eustis Police Department told Inside Lake last year.

The outcome of Vickers and Sharp’s cases are unknown because juvenile records are not available online and the Lake County Courthouse was closed at press time.