FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Two Rhode Island men were arrested after a Ferrari was stolen in a home invasion and later tracked down in Florida, the Flagler County Sheriff’s office says.
Deputies on Tuesday announced a search for the occupants of the stolen car that led deputies on a chase on Interstate 95 in Flagler County.
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The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office posted a photo of the blue 2018 Ferrari 488 Spyder and of the suspects, identified as Johnathan Costa, 19, and Logan Slezak, 18. Deputies said the men — both of whom were considered armed and dangerous — were wanted in connection with the armed home invasion.
Cranston Police Department officers were dispatched to a Rhode Island home around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday. According to an affidavit and arrest warrant, an adult resident was held at gunpoint by two male suspects demanding the victim turn over car keys for the Ferrari and Chevy Corvette owned by the residents. The suspects fled in the Ferrari but did not get the Corvette.
A regional BOLO was sent out to all law enforcement agencies in New England. The vehicle was located at a residence in Clinton, Connecticut around 9 a.m. on Saturday. Later that day, officers attempted to stop the Ferrari which fled the area.
A follow-up investigation by Clinton Police identified the two suspects involved as Costa and Slezak, and that Costa was the ex-boyfriend of the victim’s daughter, and he had been to the residence where the car theft happened numerous times.
The car was later located around 2 p.m. Tuesday in Flagler County. After failing a traffic stop, deputies say the driver continued at speeds over 100 mph, narrowly avoiding colliding with multiple other vehicles on the roadway. At one point, the car fled through a school zone on Belle Terre Parkway.
Out of precaution, local schools including Wadsworth Elementary School and Buddy Taylor Middle School were briefly placed in a “secure hold” status.
Detectives later determined Costa had a friend who lived in a home on Royal Palm Lane in Palm Coast, believing that Costa could be hiding there. Around 4:30 p.m., law enforcement found the stolen vehicle behind the residence. Deputies say Costa had attempted to hide the stolen Ferarri by covering it with red and blue tarps.
Deputies set up a perimeter around the residence and ordered Costa to exit. Shortly after, Costa was taken into police custody.
Within hours of Costa’s arrest, Slezak turned himself in to the North Providence Police Department and he was taken into custody by Cranston Police shortly after.
“Time and time again, criminals make the mistake of entering Flagler County, but it’s not every day they do it in a stolen Ferrari. So let this be a lesson… not even a Ferrari is fast enough to escape from the law,” said Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly.
Costa was charged with breaking and entering with felony intent, using a firearm while committing a crime of violence and conspiracy. He was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he is being held without bond.
Multiple agencies assisted in the search, including the Real Time Crime Center, Flagler County Fire Rescue’s FireFlight helicopter, St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office’s Main One helicopter, and the Florida Highway Patrol.
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