A 17-year-old boy who bolted from a Tampa traffic stop on foot didn't get far — a sheriff's helicopter watched him climb into a getaway car driven by his own father, and deputies say both now face felony firearm charges. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says the arrests followed a chain of events that began with a routine stop near East 18th Avenue and Locicero Drive in East Tampa and ended with a stop-sign violation and a gun with the serial number scratched off.
According to Tampa Bay 28, deputies responded to the scene at 10:01 p.m. on August 15 after a passenger ran from the initial stop. HCSO's Aviation Unit was called in to help search for the suspect who had fled on foot, and the agency says its air crew spotted him entering a separate vehicle nearby. That vehicle was later pulled over after it ran a stop sign, and deputies say a firearm was recovered from inside.
Helicopter Tracks Fleeing Suspect Back to Father's Car
Deputies identified the rear passenger who had fled as the suspect they were searching for, per the same account, and the vehicle he entered turned out to be driven by his father. In a social media report published Monday, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office identified the teen as Tony York Jr. and said he was arrested alongside the vehicle's driver, his 35-year-old father, Tony York III.
Tony York III was arrested as the driver and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Tony York Jr. faces three separate charges: possession of a firearm with a removed serial number, minor in possession of a firearm, and resisting an officer without violence, stemming from his initial flight on foot.
What the Statutes Say
The elder York's charge carries significant weight under Florida law. Under Florida Statute § 790.23, a convicted felon found in possession of a firearm or ammunition faces a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
His son's more serious charge also carries real prison exposure. Possessing a firearm with an altered or removed manufacturer's serial number is a third-degree felony under Florida Statute § 790.27, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Separately, Florida Statute § 790.22 makes it illegal for anyone under 18 to possess a firearm outside a narrow set of exceptions, such as supervised marksmanship or hunting activities. His resisting charge, filed for fleeing the original stop on foot, falls under Florida Statute § 843.02, a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Eyes in the Sky Over East Tampa
The night search leaned heavily on HCSO's airborne resources. The agency's Aviation Section flies Airbus H125 helicopters out of Tampa Executive Airport equipped with high-powered thermal imaging cameras that let crews track fleeing suspects in the dark and direct ground deputies in real time, according to Vertical Magazine.
That kind of aerial backup has become a routine force multiplier for the agency. HCSO's Aviation Unit responded to more than 3,100 calls for service in 2023 alone, flying roughly three times more hours than in prior years as part of a proactive push into crime hot spots, per WTSP. The unit has been flying continuously since 1972, making it one of the oldest airborne law enforcement operations in Florida, tasked with covering an unincorporated county area spanning nearly 900 square miles, according to Just Helicopters.
The East Tampa arrests add to a string of recent HCSO traffic stops that have turned up illegal firearms in the region, including a drum-mag gun bust in June and a stolen-firearm arrest in Temple Terrace the same month. Both York cases remain in the early stages of prosecution, and no additional details on their court proceedings have been released.
