A 35-year-old man led Miami-Dade detectives on a chase up Interstate 95 in a Dodge Charger stolen during an armed carjacking in Miami Gardens, then abandoned the car and hid inside a trash can before officers pulled him out, according to police. Anthony Mitchell now faces a felony pursuit charge, grand theft, and two additional counts after a judge found probable cause and ordered him held without bond.
The pursuit began Monday when Tactical Robbery Unit detectives spotted the silver Dodge Charger near Northwest 12th Avenue and 75th Street in North Miami-Dade, according to WSVN 7News. Mitchell was behind the wheel with two other passengers in the car, which police say had been taken during an armed carjacking in Miami Gardens. When officers tried to stop the Charger near Northwest Seventh Avenue and 76th Street, Mitchell refused to pull over.
Instead, he accelerated toward Interstate 95 and drove north, according to the outlet's report. He exited at 119th Street before the chase ended near Northwest First Avenue and 123rd Street, where Mitchell abandoned the Charger and ran on foot, per police. The pursuit covered more than four miles through some of North Miami-Dade's busiest corridors, per the same account.
Trash Can Standoff Ends the Chase
Once Mitchell fled the vehicle, officers and other law enforcement agencies set up a perimeter near the pursuit's endpoint and combed the area using K-9 and aviation units. According to the arrest report, he was eventually found hiding inside a trash can near Northwest First Avenue and 123rd Street, where Miami-Dade detectives took him into custody.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office Robbery Bureau, which includes the Tactical Robbery Unit that first spotted the Charger, relies on proactive surveillance, K-9 teams, and aviation assets to track down suspects tied to violent robbery cases, according to Miami-Dade County. That kind of coordinated response was on display in Monday's search, which ultimately funneled Mitchell into the trash can where he was found.
Charges and What Comes Next
Mitchell was charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding after a crash involving injury or damage, third-degree grand theft of a vehicle, resisting an officer without violence, and driving without a valid license, the station's report states. He has no valid driver's license, according to police.
The aggravated fleeing and eluding charge is a second-degree felony under Florida law, carrying up to 15 years in state prison and fines as high as $10,000, according to the Florida Senate. Florida courts are barred from withholding adjudication of guilt on that charge, meaning a conviction results in a permanent felony record that cannot later be sealed or expunged, per the Sammis Law Firm.
The grand theft charge stems from a statute that automatically classifies any stolen vehicle as third-degree grand theft regardless of its value, carrying up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to Hussein & Webber PL. Resisting an officer without violence, which covers conduct like fleeing on foot or hiding from police, is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine under Florida law, the firm notes. Driving without a valid license is a second-degree misdemeanor carrying up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine, though that charge can be dismissed if a valid license is obtained before a court appearance, according to the Brancato Law Firm P.A.
A judge found probable cause on Tuesday and ordered Mitchell held without bond. Police have not publicly charged Mitchell with the original armed carjacking in Miami Gardens, leaving open who committed that robbery before the Charger turned up in North Miami-Dade.
A Broader Pattern of Stolen-Car Pursuits
Florida recorded 9,808 motor vehicle thefts statewide in 2024, a rate of 42.5 thefts per 100,000 residents, according to Florida Department of Health and Florida Department of Law Enforcement data compiled by Florida Health CHARTS. Nationally, vehicle thefts have been trending in the opposite direction, falling 23% in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period the year before, marking a second straight year of declines following a post-pandemic peak in 2023, per the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Monday's case adds to a string of carjacking and pursuit incidents Hoodline has tracked across Miami-Dade this year, including a Corvette carjacking chase in May and a violent carjacking that began at a Miami Gardens gas station in March. Court records also show at least one other man named Anthony Mitchell was arrested in Miami-Dade in August 2024 on an attempted murder charge tied to an Opa-locka shooting, though prosecutors dropped those charges two months later after defense evidence undercut the allegations, according to CBS News Miami. That case involved a different set of facts and there is no indication in available records that it is connected to Monday's arrest.
