INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A man claiming the sheriff was kidnapped was jailed after firing a 9mm pistol from his truck while leading deputies on a multi-city chase.
The incident began around 8:21 p.m. on Monday when Sebastian Police responded to reports of shots fired near Riverview Park.
Witnesses told officers they heard three gunshots coming from the area of US Highway 1 and Harridson Street. One witness told officers she heard the gunshot near the No Name Sports Bar and Grill and saw a truck speeding away and honking.
As police investigated, more calls poured out reporting similar incidents.
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One caller allegedly said a man, later identified as Mark Patrick Spero, pulled up to his home on Fleming Street and told him the “Sheriff had been kidnapped.” Witnesses at a nearby gas station reported that the man drove past, shouting that he had “discharged a firearm” because a deputy was in danger.
Ring doorbell footage captured at one location showed a man with a pistol in a holster on his hip, yelling that a law enforcement officer had been taken.
The suspect’s vehicle, a silver Toyota Tacoma, was eventually spotted by Melbourne Beach Police, according to the criminal probable cause affidavit.
After a brief pursuit, Indian River County deputies intercepted Spero in the 14000 block of SR-A1A.
During the high-risk stop, Spero was taken into custody without incident, and deputies later found four spent 9mm shell casings in plain view on the driver’s seat and floorboard.
Spero told investigators that he believed he was being followed by “blacked out cars,” and was trying to get the attention of law enforcement, claiming a deputy had been “kidnapped or killed,” which prompted his erratic behaviour and attempt to get pulled over.
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Deputies found probable cause to book Spero for two counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle.