A routine traffic stop in St. Johns County on December 4 turned into a dangerous, hours-long manhunt when the driver bolted from deputies and barreled the wrong way onto Interstate 95 before officers executed a PIT maneuver that sent his car into the median barrier. The scene captured on dash and body cameras shows how quickly a simple stop can become a threat to every motorist on the highway when a wanted fugitive decides to run. This was not a small-time mistake — it was a deliberate decision to flee and endanger the public.
After his car was disabled the suspect didn’t surrender; he crossed the interstate, ran into a business complex and stole a white work van, weaving it alongside railroad tracks before abandoning it and vanishing into the woods. Deputies deployed stop sticks and continued the hunt with air support and K-9 teams, turning what could have been a tragic, chaotic catastrophe into a coordinated takedown that lasted several hours. The footage shows deputies and pilots working in sync while the suspect tried every trick in the book to escape.
St. Johns County identified the man as 33-year-old Tomal Rico Bowe, an Interpol-listed fugitive wanted in the Bahamas for aggravated robbery and carrying additional warrants in Broward County for meth possession and resisting law enforcement. This is the kind of repeat offender who has no business being loose on our streets — and the fact that Interpol had him on the radar should have been enough reason for immediate vigilance. Local authorities treated him as armed and dangerous and pursued him accordingly.
Credit where it’s due: the deputies and air unit displayed textbook professionalism under pressure, using PIT maneuvers, stop sticks, thermal imaging and K-9 units to locate and eventually take the suspect into custody. Those tools and tactics aren’t flashy — they’re lifesaving, and they work when allowed to be used without political interference. Any politician or activist who rushes to second-guess these moves should watch the video and then explain how else officers were supposed to protect motorists and bystanders.
But make no mistake: this episode is more than an isolated escape attempt. It’s another worrying sign of what happens when criminality is treated as a nuisance instead of a serious threat. When career criminals think they can run, wreck property, steal vehicles and force taxpayers to fund hours of dangerous, resource-intensive manhunts, communities lose — and honest, hardworking citizens pay the price. Law-and-order isn’t a slogan, it’s common sense.
Communities and taxpayers deserve to have deputies fully equipped and supported to pursue and arrest dangerous fugitives, and prosecutors must follow through to keep repeat offenders off the streets. If we want fewer chases and stolen vans, we need stiffer consequences and a justice system that acts swiftly and decisively rather than reflexively freeing criminals back into the public.
In the end, deputies did their job and the suspect was captured after the air unit and K-9 teams closed the net, but the incident should be a wake-up call. We must stand behind the men and women who put their lives on the line, demand accountability from judges and prosecutors, and insist that dangerous, Interpol-wanted criminals be removed from our neighborhoods for good.
