Deputies: 5 teens charged with stealing truck

Group suspected of breaking into other cars

PALM COAST, Fla. – Deputies said five teens have been detained and charged with grand theft after allegedly stealing a truck in St. Johns County.

The Flagler County Sheriff's Office said it received a call at 11:20 p.m. Friday from a resident on Lakeside Place in Palm Coast that she was watching a person rummaging through her vehicle. 

The witness said the person got into a white Dodge Ram truck and left the area.

Deputies later spotted the truck nearby, but the driver turned off the lights and the deputy lost the truck. It was later found unoccupied on Bronson Lane. Deputies confirmed the truck had been stolen in St. Johns County.

At 3:50 a.m., deputies got a call from a resident on Bayside Drive who observed five black males going from car to car pulling on door handles. 

Deputies said when they arrived to the area the suspects ran away, and after a brief foot pursuit, two of the suspects were detained. With the assistance of a K-9 unit and Air One from Volusia County, two other black male juveniles were located and detained. The fifth teen was located around 7:13 a.m. Saturday after a suspicious person call was received at the Kangaroo convenience store on Palm Coast Parkway.  

The names of two of the juveniles are Darian Sessions, 17, of Jacksonville, and Jordan Vital (pictured above), 19, of Jacksonville. There were three other teens, one 14-year-old and two 15-year-olds, whose names were withheld because of their ages.

As of now, the teens have been charged with 23 burglaries with more charges possibly forthcoming. 

One of the suspects allegedly was found with the key to the stolen truck in his pocket.  A handgun that was reported stolen from Volusia County was also recovered.All of the vehicles burglarized were unlocked.

"I am extremely proud of all  of the citizens who were great  witnesses and called the Flagler County Sheriff's Office to provide valuable information, said Flagler County Sheriff James L. Manfre. "If it had not been for them, we may not have been so successful in apprehending these suspects this morning."

Deputies are urging anyone living in these areas to check their vehicles to see if they may have
been burglarized. If so, they are asked to call the FCSO at (386) 313-4911. Residents are urged to
immediately report suspicious activity to 911.