Daytona Beach, FL – A Daytona Beach man gets 20 years in prison for a carjacking near DeLand that eventually turned into a high-speed police pursuit through the streets of Daytona Beach.
Darrion J. Tompert learned his fate on Wednesday after entering no contest to felony charges of carjacking, fleeing & eluding and gun possession by a convicted felon in an incident last August.
He was also convicted of driving with a suspended license and leaving the scene of a crash with damage, both misdemeanors.
Spencer Hathaway – a spokesman for 7th Circuit State Attorney RJ Larizza – says Tompert was previously convicted on 7 felony charges prior to Wednesday’s court hearing, including for grand theft, grand theft auto and robbery.
“Prosecutors took the necessary steps to have Tompert sentenced as a Prison Releasee Reoffender, meaning the first 15 years of his sentence will be day-for-day,” Hathaway noted.
The 21-year-old was arrested around 20 miles away from where he stole a gray 2011 Ford Fusion from a gas station on East International Speedway Boulevard on the morning of August 8th, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
The driver of the Fusion – a 38-year-old Daytona Beach man – suffered minor scrapes and scratches after he was dragged through the parking lot while trying to get Tompert out of the car. He declined medical treatment afterward.
A VCSO deputy found the stolen car heading east on ISB towards Daytona Beach around 5 minutes later, leading to another deputy using stop sticks to slow the vehicle down near the Tomoka Farms Road intersection, according to Hathaway.
“Deputies pursuing Tompert clocked him at speeds of over 110 miles an hour,” Hathaway said. “Officers from the Daytona Beach Police Department and Deputies from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deployed stop sticks, which damaged the tires on the vehicle. Tompert continued fleeing at over 90 [miles an hour] before bailing out of the vehicle in a Daytona neighborhood.”
Authorities believe the Fusion rolled over one of Tompert’s lower legs before crashing into a house on the 600 block of May Street, but Tompert was still able to get away from the crash scene on foot before he was eventually caught around 30 minutes later by a VCSO K-9 unit.
“When arrested, Tompert had the victim’s wallet in his pocket,” Hathaway stated.
The house suffered no damage from the crash, per VCSO.
The photo of the actual vehicle above this article is courtesy of VCSO.
Darrion J. Tompert (mugshot courtesy VCJ)
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