On March 22nd, [music] 2024, during a routine patrol of a closed construction site, deputies found a suspicious vehicle [music] parked between unfinished homes. The car was empty, then someone was seen running, and a search began. Sheriff's office. Make yourself known. All right, come over here and cover me for just a minute. 4446 St. Johns. Be advised, I'm pretty sure I saw a suspect at the truck before we pulled up on it. There's another subject out here doing work, and he advised that there was somebody out here on the truck. Uh but just before we arrived. 10-48. All right, we're going to clear the truck, okay? Move this way. Sheriff's office. Truck's unoccupied. They were only place they could have run is out here to the wood line. 4446 St. Johns. Truck is unoccupied. 248. St. Johns County Sheriff's office. We're going to bring the K9. If you're If you don't make yourself known, you will get bit. Make yourself known. It's your choice. You can make yourself known or we'll have the K9 come out. You will get bit. SHOW ME YOUR HANDS. I GOT TO RUN. I GOT IT. I GOT IT. 4446 ST. JOHNS, WE GOT ONE SUBJECT. HE'S SECURE. Who else is here? You want to get dog bit? No, sir. Who else is here? Cuz they're going to get dog bit. Who else is here? He He left. He left? Who left? So, there's another person. What's he wearing? Hey. Do you want him to get dog bit? No, sir. Then help me out. Help him out. Here. Yeah. What's he wearing? He's wearing the same black. Huh? Sit up. There is one more. Are you lying to me? Cuz he's going to get dog bit, and I don't want that. It hurts. I've been bit. Sit up. There's one more, correct? >> I can't sit up. I got my knee [ __ ] up, sir. Okay. Well, stand up. I'm trying to. Maybe you shouldn't run from the cops. Go ahead. Where did he go? I don't know. He went that way. >> This way? Same way? Yes, he did. He went that way. What? Just for 10-43, he says there is a second one. Looks like they were headed towards 16A. I'm trying to get further description. Yeah. Don't lose it. Hey, so I'll see. All right. Do you question him or anything? >> not talked to him at all. Do you want to read him his Miranda? >> Yes, I absolutely will. Okay, bud. So, I'm Deputy Chester with the St. Johns County Sheriff's office, okay? So, I want to talk to you a little bit, okay? I want to kind of figure out what the heck is going on. All right? Cuz right now I don't I I I'm making an assumption here, and I've got a feeling I've got a pretty good one, but I need you to fill in uh the blanks here as to what's going on. This is going to be your one chance to be honest with me. The evidence is going to speak one thing. Everything else I have is going to tell me one thing. What you tell me is going to determine another. This is your chance either let me to either hear that you're being truthful or deceitful. Evidence doesn't lie. All right? Okay? I'll be honest with you, right? Again, I So, I'm going to read you something real quick, okay? Read me my rights. >> Yes, sir. I'm going to read you your And that's your rights. You have the right to do that. You These are your rights, okay? Okay. All right, so >> You ready? Hang on. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. Do you understand that so far, bud? >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask any questions and to have them with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. Do you understand so far? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. >> Okay. If [snorts] you decide to answer questions without a lawyer present, you will still have the right to stop answering at any time. You also have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to a lawyer. Do you understand each of these rights that I have explained to you? >> Yes, I do. Okay, with these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to me now? If I talk to you, you I'll be able to use my phone to communicate with my wife? Listen, I I can't make any promises on anything, but I can tell you that that that that that that I right I can't I can't make any promises, but I will do whatever I can to do whatever I can do, I will do, okay? All right, so what was your name first, real quick? I didn't catch that. Just a minute. >> Darwin. Darwin? Okay, well, I'm I'm just so we're on a first name basis, I'm Thomas. I'm a deputy with the St. Johns County Sheriff's office, okay? So, let me ask you let's just start off with the the easy stuff here, okay, bud? Where are you originally from? Are you from St. Johns County area? >> I'm from Jacksonville. >> You're from Jacksonville? Okay, what part of Jacksonville do you live at? I stay at uh St. John San Jose, I'm in. >> Over at San Jose? Okay, how long have you lived there? I've lived there for a couple years. A couple years? Okay, where were you before originally? Uh >> Before that? I'm from Arkansas, that's why I ask. I was Florida seems to be a melting pot of places, so I never know I never know [snorts] where they're all from. I I I stay with my brother. Okay. Is that who was out here with you? Yeah? Okay. Did he run that way? I don't know which way he went. >> know. We have a K9 coming, and the dog will bite. I have been I used to do the decoy work for another agency, and I have been bitten by them, and it hurts. And it has the possibility to tear somebody up. I don't want that. I would rather somebody just Look, we're cool You're not We're not hurting you. I know that's not going to happen, but if a dog bites, it's going to hurt. You know what I mean? Well, yeah, if you If we don't know what you're going to do. We don't know if you have a gun. But see, are we doing it now? Right? We're having a casual conversation right now. I I don't Yeah, no, we don't want to do that. But we don't know. We We all have families. We want to go home to them. I understand, and and I get it. I understand. And so, that That's That's all We don't want anybody to get hurt. You didn't, and we appreciate that. Now again, we don't know. We have to For a moment, we have to assume that things are going to go bad, but the The more you complied, what did we do? But we don't want to bring the dog out. So, if we can find him, so which way did he run? To be I'm I'm I'm be straight up with you. >> Okay, be straight up with We were helping We were helping in the car. We were about to leave. >> Yeah, and y'all saw me. It was me. It was you with the lights. And I seen [ __ ] So, I ran straight. Okay. >> And I told my brother, "Hey, police." So, he just ran. He's wearing black. He's wearing all black? >> So, I don't know which way he ran. I ain't seen nothing. So, you know. You tell me that your brother was with you. So, when I If we fingerprint this car, and I find that your brother's fingerprints are there, that's all We already We can get all of that. Again, this is just for me to determine how honest you're going to be. If you want to be deceitful to me, that's your right. You can do it. But if you want to be honest with me, that's the way that I'm going to write this up. He was honest with me. He told me this. He All this stuff here. You're not ratting him out, but it's showing whether or not you are honest. Does that make sense? If it tells me that you're lying, you Right, I I understand. If you're lying, then everybody everything that we have to everything you say after that is going to be considered that you're lying all the way through it, right? But if you're honest with me the entire time, then we know it, and we can prove that you're honest, we know it. Does that make sense? So, what do you do for work? Uh construction. >> You do construction? What kind of construction work? I used to be an electrician, that's why I asked. I do framing. You do framing? Okay. But it's tough right now. So, All right, listen. I understand. Why do you think I I understand. Listen, I've got Hey, how how old are they? They're a year old, two two and three. I understand. I understand. And there is nothing I wouldn't do for my kids. As a man, I respect that. There's nothing I wouldn't do for my kids, because number one, they're most important in my life. That's I Dude, and I respect the hell out of that. I'm not even going to lie to you. Because there's a lot of deadbeat dads out there. There's a lot of who just They don't take responsibility for I I made those kids. I was half of it. So, I get that. I respect that. Is that what was going on tonight? Is you were just out here trying to just help yourself help help your kids out? Because it's hard, isn't it? Okay. Do you get them like every other weekend? Okay. I get I do, too. Okay. Just trying to just trying to make a a little a little buck there just just so you could be the father for your kids. I I understand that. I I I and I can respect that. I I've had a lot of I hired a lot of guys that were in hard spots like that, too. I had I even did that. I owned my business for a while, and it was all I could do to make it sometimes. I mean, it literally I went hungry multiple times just so that my kids could do it. I respect that, bud. Okay. So, that's That I can understand. I can I can comprehend that. Is Is this just places that you knew that were out here that you could kind of pick some of this stuff up easily? >> no, I just came out here to see if there was stuff. >> I got it. I understand. Is this all stuff from out here? Uh no. No? Is it from other places? Let me ask you this. Were you up near the truck stops a little while ago up in up off of 210? The the big truck stops out near 95? No, sir. No, you weren't? >> I came through San Jose. Okay. Through the back roads. Through the back roads? Down like US1? >> Okay. >> I don't go through there because the same reason. Same reason too many Too many police? Okay. Listen, and and there's a bunch of us. You can see it. There's a bunch of us. That's That's You're You're very right on that. Is this the only one you hit tonight? Uh Did you hit a couple other ones? Uh this no. I hit probably one more before this one. That's where I got all that stuff right there. >> All that. Where was that at? Uh Again, I don't want it I don't want somebody else to be to be out a lot either. I don't know if there's another dad that has kids that that this could be affecting that. I don't want to do that to him either. And I think you can under respect that too and understand if that's somebody else's I want to make sure that it gets back to them. It may be a dad I I owned my own business and all that material like that was mine when I did it. And it may be some That may be another thing. And as dad to dad we don't want to do that to each other either. If that is somebody's I want to make sure I get that back to them and all. So that's why I'm asking where it's at so we can make sure we get it back to whoever's it is cuz I don't want it if it's another single dad that would really suck, wouldn't it? It would, wouldn't it? If he got a company I don't think he's he's a single dad. I I did it. If I I struggled with it. It's hard times right now, dude. It's I'm surprised they don't call it a depression, right? I remember those days cuz I was making good money, but I went through the hard part first. >> I remember those days cuz I was making good So where did these come from? They came from right here down the street. I don't know from Rivertown. From uh from over in Rivertown? Okay. >> I'm from Rivertown. All right. I appreciate that. >> That's it. That's about it. After that That day I was hit. Okay. Cuz I after that I went and met my wife then I came over here. Okay. So you did So you went and met her and then came back over here. Okay. Uh listen, I appreciate that. Approximately $1,800 in stolen construction materials was found in the bed of the truck. He was subsequently arrested and charged with loitering or prowling, resisting an officer without violence, burglary, and grand [music] theft.