Man arrested after multi-county chase stemming from carjacking

Reporter: Valentina LaFranca
Published: Updated:

A man has been arrested after a carjacking turned into a chase that crossed county lines.

The chase started in Lee County Thursday afternoon.

Lee County Sheriff deputies responded to the Best Buy near Page Field Commons for a theft ring. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office told us there were three suspects involved, and when a K-9 deputy tried to restrain one of the men, it became chaos.

That man broke free, jumped into his car and drove right into the deputy.

That deputy is OK, surviving the hit-and-run with only minor injuries.

As for the suspect, he led deputies on a chase across county lines to Collier, making it all the way down to Alligator Alley.

The chase ended in Collier County at Alligator Alley near mile marker 100, close to Collier Boulevard, sometime around 2 p.m. Thursday.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers earlier confirmed the heavy deputy presence on Alligator Alley had stemmed from a car chase.

Deputies said 40-year-old Fritzen Paul is charged with carjacking and fleeing and eluding in Collier County.

He also now faces additional charges in Lee County.

Investigators say Paul abandoned the Nissan Sentra he was driving and then carjacked a couple in the Mariposa community in Naples, taking their gray Mazda CX-5 before leading deputies on a pursuit that ended near the Interstate 75 toll plaza at exit 101.

Deputies used a PIT maneuver to stop Paul, and then he fled on foot along the roadway and tried to climb a fence before a Collier County Sheriff’s Office cruiser hit the fence and knocked him to the ground.

He was then quickly taken into custody.

The couple who were carjacked was not hurt. Paul was taken to the hospital for his injuries.

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