Man in stolen SUV arrested following pursuit

A 21-year-old Lehigh Acres, Florida man was arrested early Sunday morning after he fled from Deputies in a stolen sport utility vehicle.

Guillermo Ledesma was charged with fleeing and eluding, burglary, grand theft of a motor vehicle, loitering, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The Sheriff’s Office received information at 4:57 a.m. that a white, GM Yukon Denali® reported stolen out of Lee County, Florida was likely in the Florida Keys.

Sgt. Orlando Alvarez spotted the southbound SUV at 5:01 a.m. in Key Largo on U.S. 1 and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. The SUV did not stop, continuing southbound, reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph.

Multiple Deputies converged on the scene. The tires of the SUV were successfully spiked. The suspect driver, later identified as Ledesma, left the SUV at Park Road near Mile Marker 83.

Multiple Deputies then put up a perimeter and began searching for the suspect driver.

A suspicious person was reported at the nearby Publix® grocery store approximately an hour thereafter. The suspicious person, later identified as Ledesma, had plant foliage on his clothes and in his shoes. One of his pant legs was wet. He appeared nervous and gave inconsistent stories as to how he arrived at the grocery store. Video footage obtained from the grocery store showed Ledesma arriving on foot, not being dropped off by a family member in a vehicle as he claimed.

Deputies searched the area where Ledesma was seen entering the grocery store property and located the key fob to the stolen SUV and a backpack. They continued to search the area and discovered a Toyota® vehicle on South Hammock Road that had a door slightly ajar. The car appeared to have been rifled though as some items formerly in the center console appeared to have been left on the seat. A single sandal was also found in the Toyota. The owner of the Toyota stated she had never seen the sandal before and had not removed the items from the center console.

Meanwhile, a U.S. Border Patrol K9 unit assisted was provided clothing belonging to Ledesma. The K9 tracked to the Toyota and alerted. The K9 tracked to the grocery store and alerted. It also alerted where the key fob and backpack were found. Inside the backpack was a sandal matching the other sandal found in the Toyota. A credit card belonging to Ledesma was also found in the backpack. In sum: The K9 tracked to all the points Ledesma had been — the stolen SUV, the Toyota, the area where the key fob and backpack were found and the grocery store.

A marijuana cigarette was found in the stolen SUV.

Ledesma was taken to jail.

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