ORLANDO, Fla. – A Florida man is facing multiple charges after he attacked an Orlando Utilities Commission worker before taking off in the victim’s vehicle and then crashing it, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.
Around 8 a.m. Monday, deputies responded to the area of Edgewater Drive and Lee Road in reference to a carjacking in progress.
The victim told deputies he was waiting outside his work vehicle at a nearby location on Lee Road when a man, identified as 22-year-old Stephano Brutus, approached him asking for a ride, an arrest affidavit states.
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When the victim declined, the two argued, and Brutus punched the OUC worker multiple times. During the altercation, the victim was pushed to the ground, hitting his head on the pavement. Brutus then took the victim’s work cellphone and drove off in the vehicle, an arrest affidavit states.
Deputies later found the stolen truck crashed into another car at the intersection of Edgewater Drive and Lee Road. The driver witnessed Brutus fleeing the scene and attempting to open other vehicles.
Brutus, who deputies said is from Wesley Chapel, Florida, was quickly contained near a nearby business where the carjacking victim positively identified him as the suspect, and deputies recovered his cellphone.
Brutus was arrested and taken to the Orange County Jail. While booking, deputies said Brutus attempted to escape but was caught and restrained after resisting deputies.
The carjacking victim suffered lacerations to his head and a large abrasion on his back.
Brutus faces multiple charges, including carjacking, battery, robbery, grand theft of a motor vehicle, vehicle burglary, escape, and resisting an officer without violence.
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