Deltona, FL - A boyfriend and girlfriend in Deltona were arrested for child neglect after Volusia County Sheriff's Office (VCSO) says there were two children in the car as the couple sped away from law enforcement on Friday.
VCSO and the U.S. Marshal Service were both looking for 29-year-old Danny Pierce, who was wanted on a federal warrant for violation of probation for counterfeiting and two Volusia County warrants for grand theft and grand theft of a motor vehicle. Officials caught up with Pierce at his girlfriend's home on Cedar Pine Dr. in Deltona on Friday afternoon.
Deputies say that Pierce's girlfriend, 27-year-old Ashley Monti was acting as a look-out. Pierce got into a black 2014 Cadillac, along with Monti and two young children, and began speeding away. Detectives did attempt to stop the Cadillac, but they did not pursue the vehicle. According to VCSO, Pierce backed the car up, almost hit one detective’s vehicle, and fled.
Officers returned to the home later on Friday, but neither Pierce nor the Cadillac was at the home. Monti and the children were at the home, and Monti told investigators that she knew Pierce had warrants for his arrest. Monti said that while Pierce was speeding away from law enforcement, she screamed at Pierce to stop because "she thought the vehicle was going to flip because it was traveling so fast." The children were not wearing seatbelts at first, but Monti told detectives she was ultimately able to jump into the back seat to clasp the children's seatbelts.
No one in the vehicle was hurt during the escape. "There were residents and people in the community that were also at risk, but fortunately no one was injured," says Laura Williams, Public Information Officer for VCSO.
On Monday, Monti told VCSO she had not seen Pierce since Friday, but she did receive text messages from him indicating that he was suicidal. Monti was arrested and charged with two counts of child neglect for allegedly endangering the children and has since been released.
Officials continued their search for Pierce, and they found him Tuesday night as he was driving the black Cadillac in DeLeon Springs. Pierce was tracked to an abandoned trailer on Johnson Lake Rd. and was bitten by a VCSO K-9 as he was being apprehended. Pierce was taken to Florida Hospital of DeLand for medical treatment and then taken into custody at the Volusia County Branch Jail.
Pierce's additional charges include fleeing and eluding and child neglect.
(Pierce's mugshot courtesy Volusia County Jail)
(Monti's mugshot courtesy Volusia County Jail)
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