Deputies pursue Big Coppitt Key car thief

Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies Sunday morning chased a car thief who was driving too dangerously at several different locations in the Lower Keys for police to safely stop him.

Adrian Diaz, 20, of Big Coppitt Key, was identified as the driver of the car who eluded police, and he will face numerous charges in connection with the case, said Deputy Becky Herrin, a Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.

The vehicle, a 2006 silver Lexus, was stolen overnight from a residence on Cudjoe Key. The owner called to report the theft at 8 a.m. Also, the owner’s roommate reported a chain saw was stolen from his truck, which was parked at the same residence.

A short time after the report, Deputy Alexandra Davis spotted the vehicle northbound on Cudjoe Key.

Davis tried to stop it, “but the vehicle refused to stop and began to drive very dangerously at high rates of speed so she stopped pursuing for fear of endangering other people on the roadway,” Herrin said.

Between 8:22 a.m. and 9:45 a.m., the stolen vehicle was spotted numerous times by deputies, Fish and Wildlife officers and Key West Police officers.

Various officers attempted to stop the vehicle repeatedly. Each time, the driver would flee in such a dangerous manner they could not pull the vehicle over, nor could they stop it safely, Herrin said.

Finally, the vehicle’s tires were spiked by Deputy Ken Fricke at mile marker 13.

The Lexus continued to travel onto Big Coppitt Key on three flat tires that had been spiked. The abandoned car was found on Ed Swift Road, with a pair of black gloves on the passenger seat and cocaine inside the car.

During the course of the investigation into who was driving, Deputy Davis received photographs and videos showing Diaz of Big Coppitt Key with the stolen Lexus.

Diaz was identified from numerous previous law enforcement contacts and from mug shots from previous arrests. One of the videos showed a man with Diaz who was identified from previous law enforcement contacts as 29-year-old Frank Ramirez. Detectives interviewed Ramirez and he gave them information about the case.

This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Deputies pursue Big Coppitt Key car thief."