OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Four people were arrested on Wednesday in Orange County following a home-invasion robbery in St. Johns County, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
A vehicle with a man and two women was found fleeing from law enforcement on Wednesday, sparking a multi-county car chase through Brevard, Osceola and Orange counties, deputies said.
The car ultimately pulled over near the intersection of Dallas Boulevard and Somerset Street, and the driver and passengers fled into a nearby wooded area, deputies said.
After a brief search by law enforcement, a man and two women were eventually arrested and taken into custody, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and Orange County Sheriff’s Office along with the Florida Highway Patrol helped with the arrests.
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The man was later identified as 19-year-old Jariel Guzman, and the two women were identified as Jaida Sandage, 20, and Sierra Kennedy, 22, deputies said.
An arrest warrant had been issued for Kennedy on Tuesday after investigators said she was involved in a home invasion robbery against a man she met through a dating website.
Court records show that while waiting for a patrol car after her capture, Sandage asked deputies, “Why am I getting arrested when I wasn’t driving?”
Investigators said that upon being informed that a warrant had been issued in connection with the home invasion, Kennedy then stated, “Oh, well, did they tell you the guy at the home invasion was trying to pay for sex?”
Kennedy then told law enforcement that a third woman — 22-year-old Akiya Cato, who reportedly identified as a man — had been with them and escaped into the woods on foot, deputies said.
While searching the area, a deputy found a “large lump covered in pine needles” that was moving up and down — “as if a person was covered in pine needles and breathing,” an arrest affidavit states.
According to the sheriff’s office, the “lump” was actually Cato trying to disguise herself, and she retreated further into some nearby bushes upon being told to surrender.
However, the deputy said he used a Taser on Cato and was able to bring her into custody.
Guzman faces charges of home burglary and resisting an officer without violence.
Meanwhile, Kennedy faces charges of burglary with assault or battery, and home invasion robbery with a firearm.
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