A Florida sheriff’s department arrested a couple accused of exploiting the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias, with the duo alleged to have stolen a woman’s car before crashing it, Fox News reported.
A video from Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons posted to Facebook says that Dustin Kelley, 30, and Amanda Carr, 29, allegedly came up to a woman and claimed the two were in the area doing work in the hurricane’s aftermath.
The two told a woman their phone had died and asked for help to charge it, prompting the victim to let Carr into her vehicle to plug it in. Simmons said Carr was “crying” because she didn’t have a charger, but Kelly and Carr drove off when the woman got out of her car.
Fortunately for the alleged victim, a nearby deputy spotted the incident.
While the deputy was giving chase the vehicle crashed, but no one was seriously injured.
“These two angels pretended like they needed a phone charged and ended up stealing a car. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t realize that the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has been out in full force looking for people just like them, and they’re going to jail now,” Simmons said in the video, which earned hundreds of reactions on the social media page.
Elsewhere in the county, Sheriff Simmons said another man allegedly attempted to break into a 24-hour convenience store by smashing through a window while the power was out.
“The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office was out in full force, and we were able to pull up, saw him, and he took off running, but didn’t get far,” Simmons added.
Another deputy on patrol saw the incident taking place and was able to stop it, said Simmons, who thanked his team for their diligence in protecting the community during storm recovery.
Follow Matt Mercer on X: @mattmercer.
