DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daytona Beach officers who went after a grand theft suspect Tuesday afternoon made an arrest late that night following the death of a woman who had provided investigators with information, according to the police department.
Police said at 3:15 p.m. on social media that they were searching the areas of 5th Street and Derbyshire Road, as well as Vera Street, Edwards Street and Madison Avenue, for “a wanted, fleeing felon.”
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In an update Wednesday, investigators said officers were looking for Julio Angel Rivera, 45, related to an affidavit regarding a stolen motorcycle.
During the search, officers made contact with the victim — so far identified only as a female — who provided police with information and called the suspect to the area, the news release states.
While police waited, they observed the victim get into a white GMC truck, carrying six people, that sped away as officers approached. The victim was then thrown from the vehicle in the 600 block of Madison Avenue, police said.
An officer stopped to render aid to the victim, who had become unresponsive, as another officer tried to stop the fleeing truck, according to the release. The victim was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
The search for the truck continued as the suspect had reportedly evaded officers and dumped the vehicle at 5th Street and Coquina Avenue. After several hours of searching, the suspect was caught by the police department’s Violent Crimes Apprehension Team and taken into custody around 11:50 p.m. on a warrant for grand theft of a motor vehicle.
Additional charges are pending a death investigation, police said.
Anyone with information related to the investigation is urged to contact the department’s Criminal Investigations Division at 368-671-5202.
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