A Dodge Avenger that fled Lakeland Police was back on law enforcement’s radar within minutes, this time because an automated license plate reader picked it up across town.
Newly released Florida Highway Patrol video shows what happened next: a nighttime pursuit through the Lakeland area that ended with a trooper using a PIT maneuver to spin the car to a stop.
The chase began around 2:43 a.m. Sept. 11, after FHP received a be-on-the-lookout alert for the 2014 Dodge Avenger. Three minutes later, an automated license plate reader detected it near Old Combee Road and East Lake Parker Drive.
A trooper moved to intercept the Dodge near SR-33. After the pursuit ended, FHP found another problem: the plate displayed on the car belonged to a different vehicle, and the Avenger itself was unregistered.
The Dodge Lights Up the Reader
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The driver was 17-year-old Brock Austin Shorette of Lakeland.
FHP had a little fun with that detail when it posted the pursuit footage to Instagram, framing the clip as a lesson in “Driver’s Ed” and adding: “Rule #1 = #DontRun.”
Trooper Jonathan Medina positioned himself near SR-33 after the license plate reader hit, anticipating the Dodge would continue north on Old Combee Road.
At about 2:48 a.m., Medina spotted the Avenger turning west onto SR-33 and moved to intercept it.
The Dodge instead turned north back onto Old Combee Road and entered the residential area around Ashbury Parke Drive. Medina activated the emergency lights and siren on patrol unit FHP0901.
The Avenger made a U-turn and headed south on Old Combee Road.
Medina then used a precision immobilization technique, or PIT maneuver, spinning the Dodge to a stop.
The quick ending did not go unnoticed. One commenter wrote, “Well that ended quickly,” while another focused on the choice of getaway car: “In a Dodge Avenger.”
The Plate Belonged Somewhere Else
After the PIT, troopers held the occupants at gunpoint until additional units arrived. They were taken into custody without further incident.
The plate displayed on the Dodge was registered to a different vehicle. The Avenger itself was unregistered.
FHP charged Shorette with fleeing or eluding at high speed with disregard for the safety of people or property.
Because Lakeland Police initiated the original attempted stop, Shorette was turned over to that agency under case number 2026-0085198.
Shorette was booked at 4:03 a.m. into the Juvenile Assessment Center in Bartow.
All parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.