HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – A 26-year-old man faces multiple criminal charges after Hillsborough County deputies tracked down a stolen vehicle and caught him hiding in a residential backyard on Saturday morning.
The incident began around 8 a.m. on October 10, 2026, when Zachary Brooks entered an occupied home on Alafia Hills Drive, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators said Brooks took keys from inside the residence and drove off in a vehicle parked at the property.
Shortly afterward, Brooks drove to a gas station along Paul Buchman Highway. While there, deputies said he reached directly through the exterior sales window, grabbed a vape, and took off.
Road patrol units soon spotted the stolen car near the intersection of Jerry Smith Road and Trapnell Road. Deputies called in the agency’s Aviation Unit, which tracked the car from the air and kept ground units updated on its movements as it continued traveling toward East Trapnell Road…