Fresh off a release from the Monroe County jail, a 23-year-old Miami Gardens man barely made it out of the parking lot before landing back in custody, authorities say.
On Friday, the man allegedly walked into the Plantation Key courthouse lot, jumped into a Ford SUV and tore off down U.S. 1, triggering what troopers say was his second high-speed pursuit in less than a week. Florida Highway Patrol troopers intercepted the SUV near Mile Marker 61 and returned the driver to custody. Authorities said no serious injuries were reported.
According to the Tampa Free Press, the Ford first caught troopers’ attention when it bolted from a reckless-driving traffic stop near Mile Marker 83, with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office assisting in the pursuit. Troopers ultimately stopped the vehicle near Mile Marker 61 and identified the driver as Jefry Julian Chaucanes Vasquez, 23, of Miami Gardens, before taking him back into custody.
Deputies said Chaucanes Vasquez also broke into a different vehicle in the courthouse lot and swiped an iPhone charger. The Sheriff’s Office charged him with theft and burglary of an unoccupied vehicle, while the Highway Patrol filed multiple charges tied to the stolen Ford and the chase, per the Tampa Free Press. "Authorities confirmed that no serious injuries were reported in either incident," the outlet noted.
Two chases in under a week
The courthouse-lot caper was not the first time deputies say they had to hit the gas for this driver.
Just days earlier, on June 9, deputies on U.S. 1 reported that the same man hit speeds up to 125 mph during a separate incident. He was booked on charges including DUI, fleeing and eluding, reckless driving, excessive speeding and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. That earlier case, combined with the new set of allegations, leaves prosecutors with multiple dockets of charges to sort through as the case moves forward.
Local risk and broader context
The Plantation Key courthouse sits along the Overseas Highway at Mile Marker 88, where juror parking and a public lot can make quick grab-and-go vehicle thefts possible, according to the 16th Judicial Circuit. The site lists the Plantation Key Government Center at 88770 Overseas Highway, Suite 1, in Tavernier.
While this saga is very much a Keys story, vehicle theft remains a national headache. The National Insurance Crime Bureau found that U.S. vehicle thefts declined in 2025 but still racked up hundreds of thousands of reports, underscoring why law enforcement keeps hammering on prevention and vigilance. NICB reported 659,880 thefts in 2025.
Monroe County court records and booking logs will determine what additional charges are formally filed, and the county clerk’s criminal pages list local case information for public view via the Monroe County Clerk. For now, officials say the suspect remains in custody pending prosecution, and investigators are continuing to coordinate with the Florida Highway Patrol on the active case.
