MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A tool theft escalated into a pursuit when deputies said they used stop sticks and a PIT maneuver to arrest two suspects and recover more than $14,000 in stolen equipment.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests on Tuesday, and said the incident began at a business along SW Ellipse Way, where a work truck was targeted by a pair of traveling thieves. The business owner noticed suspicious activity around a trailer and quickly contacted deputies, a move authorities say helped stop the crime in progress.
The sheriff’s office said the suspects broke into the truck and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of tools before leaving the area. Deputies soon located the suspect vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but the driver refused to pull over, prompting a short pursuit.
The driver was identified as 45-year-old Marcos Andres Balbuena Lopez of Palm Springs. Deputies escalated their response by deploying stop sticks and later using a pursuit intervention technique to bring the vehicle to a controlled stop. Lopez and his passenger, 33-year-old Eyer Cedeno, who told deputies he was homeless, were taken into custody without reported injuries…