Chainsaw thief crashes car while fleeing, hides behind shower curtain, deputies say

Authorities say Jonathan DeMartino stole over $1,000 from Home Depot

PALM COAST, Fla. – A man has been arrested after he stole over $1,000 worth of products from a Home Depot in Palm Coast, crashed his car and fled, officials from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office said.

Jonathan DeMartino was arrested Saturday and charged with shoplifting, leaving a crash with injuries and drug-related charges. DeMartino is 37 and a resident of Palm Coast. He has been in and out of the Flagler County Jail four times since 2017.

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Deputies said they were called to the Home Depot at 10 Garden St. on reports of a larceny shoplifter. A customer told the on-duty manager that they saw a man run out of the garden section with a cart full of merchandise, which included two chainsaws, a power washer and cutting blades. The total cost of the items is $1,096.

The manager did not want to press charges until she could view surveillance video, which the store's loss prevention officer said would take time to recover, authorities said. They said the video later confirmed that the shoplifter was DeMartino.

Deputies then received 911 calls about a hit-and-run on Palm Coast Parkway. Officials said the vehicle that left the scene matched the description of the car of the suspected shoplifter.

One 911 caller said the car was "all smashed on the front end and smoking" and that it was "going one hundred miles an hour."

According to DeMartino's arrest report, deputies recognized that the hit-and-run driver may have been DeMartino based on witness descriptions. 

Officials said that when they arrived at DeMartino's last known address, they found him laying inside of a bathtub with the shower curtain closed in front of him. He came out of the bathtub when told to do so and was arrested.

DeMartino is being held at the Flagler County jail on $7,500 bond.


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