FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Florida K-9s took a bite out of crime last week after catching several suspects accused of crashing a stolen car with a fake gun, ski masks and stolen gaming consoles inside who tried to avoid apprehension by swimming across a canal.
The backstory:
According to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, deputies located a car that had been stolen out of Brevard County around 10:20 a.m. on October 24, 2025, as it turned onto Holding Road.
A deputy said when he tried to pull over the vehicle as it approached a dead end, the suspect driver abruptly left the roadway, crashing into the canal bank brush.
Investigators said four people inside the vehicle got out immediately and ran away.
Deputies subsequently recovered a replica Sig P365 handgun/airsoft pistol, multiple ski masks, and two gaming systems from inside the stolen vehicle.
A juvenile suspect was taken into custody immediately at the scene of the crashed vehicle.
K-9 Deputy Angulo and his K-9 partner Viktor tracked and caught the second juvenile approximately 200 yards away.
Dig deeper:
According to SLCO, the two remaining adult suspects tried to get away by swimming across the C-24 canal, entering a nearby citrus grove.
They tried to avoid getting caught by swimming across the C-24 canal, entering a nearby citrus grove. Fort Pierce Police Department (FPPD) K-9 Officer Patriani and his K-9 partner Max arrived and began tracking the suspects within the grove.
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K-9 Max located and apprehended 19-year-old Gavin Guthrie of Melbourne, resulting in a K-9 bite. Shortly thereafter, the final adult suspect, 18-year-old John Mullins, also of Melbourne, was taken into custody.
Courtesy: St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office
Both adult suspects, John Mullins and Gavin Guthrie, were charged with:
Grand theft of motor vehicleContributing to the delinquency of a minorTrespassingResisting arrest without violence
Guthrie faces additional charges of reckless driving and fleeing and eluding law enforcement.
The two juveniles, who were later confirmed to be reported missing from Charlotte County, were charged with resisting arrest without violence.
Both juveniles were taken to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
The Source: This article was written with information posted on Facebook by the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.Â