“Hey, this is the wrong neighborhood.”
An alleged attempt to burglarize community cars was interrupted by an off-duty Florida cop who spotted teen suspects tampering with his wife’s vehicle before a chase ensued.
(Video: WOFL)
The Grand Reserve subdivision in Bunnell, Florida is home to numerous members of law enforcement including one who happened to be enjoying his one day off when two teens were spotted outside his home allegedly attempting to gain access to his wife’s car.
Following the Wednesday night incident that landed the 16- and 17-year-olds arrested and charged with burglary, the Bunnell Police Department released footage from the off-duty officer’s security system that captured the incident around 11:30 p.m., including the cop’s response.
“I was playing video games, and I started getting alerts on my phone. And as I looked at the cameras, I see two males, one hiding behind the car, one at my wife’s car, pulling the door handle, seeing if it was unlocked,” the officer, who asked to remain unnamed for safety reasons, told WOFL.
The video, seemingly clipped to protect the identities of the minors alleged to have committed the crime as well, showed one wearing gray stepping out from between the two cars parked in the officer’s driveway before heading down the block. Later they could be seen walking in the middle of the street as the cop stepped outside at the edge of the camera’s view wearing red shorts.
“Why are you all searching through peoples’ cars?” he could be heard calling out to them.
Recounting the incident to WOFL, the cop added, “I said, ‘Hey, this is the wrong neighborhood. Obviously, there’s multiple patrol vehicles in here, and you picked the wrong one.'”
“They took off running on foot,” he explained, leading to his getting in his patrol vehicle and following them down the road where he hopped out and began “chasing them on foot, where Flager [County Sheriff’s deputies] ended up catching them with me.”
Following their arrests, the teens were each charged with three counts of burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and released into the custody of their parents. One of those parents detailed that their son was supposed to be spending the night at his grandmother’s house, and no one knew he had snuck away.
At least one of the suspects acknowledged that he had attempted to gain access to the cars and claimed that he was doing so to cover a repair bill for his cell phone.
“They can use any excuse they want to use, but you’re taking away from people that earn hard for what they have,” the officer said in response to the effort at justification. “I know that they had no remorse trying to go into people’s vehicles and trying to flee from the officers that were on scene.”
Despite burglarizing at least two cars, nothing was taken by the suspects. The officer laughed at the experience as he recounted to WOFL, “I literally told the officers that showed up, I was like, ‘I did not think this was going to happen on my only day off.'”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
- ‘Hackiest hack’ Jim Acosta fears ‘partisan hacks’ will take over CNN as a result of merger - March 21, 2026
- USPS mail carrier in NYC suburb captured on video violently shoving 4-year-old Jewish boy - March 21, 2026
- Luxury brand facing scrutiny over failed Erika Kirk smear job by staffer who leaked purchase history - March 21, 2026
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.