DELAND, FLORIDA — A Tennessee man is in jail after a weekend carjacking incident that ended after the driver’s boyfriend flattened the vehicle’s tires and held the fleeing suspect at bay with a stick.
Deputies responded to a report of a disturbance just after 3 a.m. Saturday at 1281 W. New York Ave. in Orange City. There, they met 42-year-old Kevin J. Miller, who denied he was in any kind of altercation. The victims, a woman and her boyfriend, would soon tell deputies a different story.
The victims said they were at the Oyster Bar in Orange City when Miller approached them and asked for a ride home. They agreed. The female victim drove, with her boyfriend in the passenger seat and Miller in the back. Once on the road, though, Miller wasn’t sure where he needed to go.
After driving around, the victim decided to head to a friend’s house. Miller soon became agitated, pulled out a pocket knife and held it against the victim’s throat, telling her: “Drive now!” The victim screamed, put the 2010 Honda SUV in park and jumped out. Miller started to climb into the driver’s seat, knife still in hand, and the victim’s boyfriend tried but failed to grab the key out of the ignition. Miller swung the knife at him.
The male victim exited the passenger side and used his own pocket knife to puncture two of the SUV’s tires. Miller began to drive away, but he didn’t get more than 50 yards. The victim was running after him, and caught up with Miller as he climbed out of the disabled SUV. The victim grabbed a large stick and used it to keep Miller in the front yard of 1281 W. New York until deputies arrived.
After speaking with the victims and multiple witnesses, deputies charged Miller with carjacking, grand theft auto and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He had the silver pocket knife clipped to his right front pocket when a deputy checked him for weapons. -VCSO
