A foot chase through the gated Oxford Oaks subdivision ended with a 25-year-old man secured at the rear of a residence after he forced his way into an occupied home, jumped a six-foot privacy fence, and tried a neighboring patio before deputies closed in using an infrared drone. The chase began just before 9:30 p.m. Sunday when the man fled a traffic stop along U.S. 301 in Oxford. A drone tracked him to a retention pond south of Oxford Oaks before he re-entered the subdivision.
According to Villages-News.com, the man was identified as Daniel Cerrito Yanez, 25, who lives in Orlando. An arrest report cited by the outlet says Cerrito Yanez ran into a Zimmerman Path home through a rear sliding glass door and repeatedly yelled, “I'm Mexican,” while pleading for help. The homeowners were in their bedroom at the time; one of them confronted him about six feet inside the home, ordered him to leave, and then pushed him back outside when he refused, per the same report.
Oxford Oaks is a gated family subdivision built by The Villages along U.S. 301, according to a Zillow property listing. Sumter County Sheriff's Office deputies handled perimeter containment and drone surveillance during the pursuit, and the primary arrest report was processed by the Wildwood Police Department, the article notes.
Drone Tracks Suspect to a Retention Pond
After being pushed out of the home, Cerrito Yanez jumped a six-foot privacy fence while the other homeowner called 911 and deputies began a perimeter search. A drone operator tracked him to a retention pond south of Oxford Oaks before he doubled back and re-entered the subdivision, where the drone operator watched him slip onto the rear porch of another Zimmerman Path residence, the report states. He then unsuccessfully tried to get onto the back patio of a neighboring home before deputies secured him at the rear of the residence.
The Sumter County Sheriff's Office operates a fleet of 12 infrared-equipped drones, according to ClickOrlando.com. The outlet reports that SCSO drone operators have credited the thermal technology with saving more than 20 lives.
Charge, Bond, and Immigration Hold
Cerrito Yanez was transported to the Sumter County Detention Center and charged with misdemeanor trespassing in an occupied structure, with bond set at $1,000, Villages-News.com reports. Under Florida Statute § 810.08, trespassing in a structure becomes a first-degree misdemeanor rather than a second-degree one when a person is inside during the trespass, carrying penalties of up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, according to The Florida Senate.
In Britton v. State, a Florida appellate court held that entering a home while fleeing police could constitute burglary when the entrant intended to commit resisting an officer without violence inside the home, per Law & CaseMine.
Despite the $1,000 bond, Cerrito Yanez is being held so he can be turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Villages-News.com reports. Florida law requires local law enforcement agencies and county jails to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and honor ICE detainers, holding eligible noncitizens for up to 48 hours past their scheduled release or bond posting, according to WUSF.
A Familiar Pattern for Sumter County Deputies
This is not the first time SCSO's drone program has been used to locate someone trying to disappear into local terrain. The sheriff's office also used drone technology and K9 units to locate an escaped inmate from a kitchen work detail near a pond, according to a Sumter County Sheriff's Office Facebook post.
The agency also uses drones in suspect searches.
The article also discusses drivers who flee traffic stops in Sumter County.
