A Florida couple has been arrested after a chaotic Monday of haphazard driving and disorderly conduct, as the two crashed into an officer's vehicle, attempted to hit a K-9 police dog and its handler, and intruded into a mayor’s home, all in one morning.
Matthew Swett, 31, and Kaila Ellig, 32, have been nabbed for a handful of offenses including armed burglary and battery of law enforcement, BayNews9 reported.
At around 2 a.m. on early Monday, an officer was reportedly patrolling near a construction site in Haines City when he first noticed the couple's blue 2003 Toyota parked outside the premises.
As the cop approached the vehicle for a routine check, an alarmed Swett reportedly started the car and, in a frenzy to flee the scene, deliberately struck the officer's vehicle, the Haines City Police Department confirmed.
The suspects' vehicle, however, swerved and crashed into a ditch. Another officer, K-9 handler Joseph Elam, and his partner, a dog named Cash, were able to spot them stuck in the canal. Seeing the law enforcer and his K-9, Swett quickly put his car in reverse with the intent of hitting the dog, Fox News noted.
Thankfully, the K-9 escaped the ordeal unscathed as its handler was able to pull the dog to safety before the suspect could accelerate his vehicle. After dislodging the car out of the ditch, Swett purposefully rammed past the K-9 officer's vehicle before fleeing the area and heading to Prado Grande Avenue and Old Polk City Road.
Pursuing police later found the vehicle on fire after it seemingly crashed into a tree at a nearby wooded area, police noted. However, the couple was nowhere to be found.
The duo reportedly managed to crawl out of the wreckage and proceeded to climb a nearby fence. They then broke into a back screened-in porch area of a home on the property in the Randa Ridge subdivision, not knowing it was the residence of Haines City Mayor Morris West.
West had been awoken by the crash and witnessed as the group of officers came running into his backyard to arrest the disorderly couple.
"I'm glad they were able to apprehend them before I was able to because I'm a licensed concealed weapon carrier, and if one of them moved inside of my residence, I probably would have taken more action," West said.
"They picked the wrong house. That was my house. Out of the 28,000 people we have here, they picked the mayor’s house; what are the chances of that?" the local official told WFLA.
As officers circled the couple, the cop Elam urged Swett to surrender. The suspect, however, ignored the command. The K-9 Cash was then released to subdue the assailant, biting Swett in the leg. Ellig cooperated and voluntarily surrendered shortly after.
Officers seized a knife and prescription drugs not registered to Swett from the couple, True Crime Daily Wrote.
Swett has been charged with armed burglary, two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, use of a deadly weapon, fleeing with an attempt to elude, possession of buprenorphine, driving an unregistered motor vehicle, driving with a suspended or revoked license, and resisting an officer without violence.
Ellig faces charges of resisting an officer without violence and burglary of an occupied structure.
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