Broward deputies arrested an 18-year-old who they say jumped into a canal trying to run away from them after being spotted with a stolen car.
People who live at the apartment complex near the canal watched deputies try to get 18-year-old Torrence Grant to come out of the water Sunday.
“The cop was yelling at him, you need to come out,” witness Jose Zevallos said.
Detectives said they first saw Grant and another man in Oakland Park with a stolen SUV from Coral Gables. Witnesses told detectives they saw Grant stripping the SUV, cutting wires and other vehicle parts.
Grant and the other man started running, and at some point, Grant unlawfully entered someone’s home, detectives said.
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Booking photo of Torrence Grant
According to an arrest report, there was someone inside the home, and they saw Grant hiding in the kitchen, using his cellphone. Grant ran back outside, and a K-9 eventually found him and bit him. That’s when Grant jumped into the canal outside an apartment complex off East Oakland Park Boulevard.
Zevallos was one of many people who saw Grant in the water. He started recording everything.
“I got a little bit of anxiety, I don’t have anxiety, but I was really concerned,” Zevallos said.
Gaby Gardiner also lives in the apartment and said she’s now worried about her own safety.
“It makes me feel sad for that kid and his bad decisions,” Gardiner said. “It is scary, and some buildings don’t have a lot of security like this one, and I suppose we need more security.”
People in the community are glad things have returned to normal.
“I thought he stole something from the store, and he got caught and jumped into the water trying to escape, but that’s a major thing, a car then breaking into a house, that’s a lot,” Zevallos said.
Detectives said they’re still searching for the second man who was with Grant.
Grant violated his juvenile probation, the arrest report said. Those guidelines are in place until he turns 19.