Crime spree ends: 18-year-old Dalton Hayes captured with 13-year-old girlfriend, Cheyenne Phillips
Two teenage Kentucky sweethearts suspected in a crime spree of stolen vehicles and check fraud across the southeast have been taken into custody in Florida, authorities said Sunday.
Dalton Hayes, 18, and his Cheyenne Phillips, 13, were arrested without incident about 12:10 a.m. Sunday in Panama City Beach, according to authorities in both states. The two had eluded police in multiple states while raising concern about their increasingly bold behavior.
“I spoke to Dalton and he was very scared, and he wanted to come home,” said Norman Chaffins, the sheriff of Grayson County, Kentucky, where the teens live. “He wanted me to come bring him home.”
Chaffins said the teens were getting by on some cash found in a truck stolen in Georgia.
Authorities said the U.S. Marshal’s Service and Panama City Beach Police discovered Hayes and Phillips asleep in a 2001 Toyota Tundra that was stolen in Georgia. Officers surrounded the vehicle, and both Hayes and Phillips were taken into custody.
Chaffins told The Associated Press that the teens should be extradited back to Kentucky by the end of the week.
In Kentucky, the two teens will face the same charges, including burglary, theft, criminal trespassing and criminal mischief, Chaffins said. Phillips will face charges in juvenile court, because she is a minor.
Florida’s Department of Children & Families was called to assist Panama City Beach Police, but Phillips was not in the state’s custody, said DaMonica Rivas, a DCF spokeswoman.
“The juvenile has been taken to a safe location until arrangements with the family are made,” Rivas said.
Chaffins said he was relieved the crime spree ended peacefully. If the couple had not been found asleep and surrounded, he said, they may have run again.
“I think me and the family and many other law enforcement agencies were not getting a good feeling about how this was going to turn out,” Chaffins said.
Hayes and Phillips began their run from the law and their families earlier this month when they vanished from their small hometown in western Kentucky.
Authorities believe their travels took them to South Carolina and Georgia.
[…] in FloridaConcord MonitorSheriff: Teens on the run were 'ready to come home'WAVE 3The Global Dispatchall 1,215 news […]
[…] Antonio Express-NewsTwo Kentucky Teen's Crime Spree Comes to an EndTristatehomepage.comThe Global Dispatch -LEX18 Lexington KY News -KTALall 1,200 news […]
[…] Found in FloridaABC NewsTwo Kentucky Teen's Crime Spree Comes to an EndTristatehomepage.comThe Global Dispatch -LEX18 Lexington KY Newsall 2,802 news […]
[…] Feels 'Immediate Relief' After Runaway Teen Found in FloridaABC NewsCrime spree ends: 18-year-old Dalton Hayes captured with 13-year-old girlfriend …The Global DispatchUS teens on alleged crime spree captured in FloridaNews 10NBCLEX18 Lexington KY […]
[…] = "0000CC"; ch_color_border = "0000FF"; ch_color_text = "000000"; ch_color_bg = "FFFFFF"; Crime spree ends: 18-year-old Dalton Hayes captured with 13-year-old girlfriend …The Global DispatchKy. Teenagers Arrested In Florida After Alleged Crime SpreeLEX18 Lexington KY […]
[…] couple found in stolen car in FloridaSFGateUS police catch teenage fugitives in FloridaBBC NewsCrime spree ends: 18-year-old Dalton Hayes captured with 13-year-old girlfriend …The Global DispatchLEX18 Lexington KY News -7Online WSVN-TV -Fox Newsall 1,198 news […]
[…] Antonio Express-NewsTwo Kentucky Teen’s Crime Spree Comes to an EndTristatehomepage.comThe Global Dispatch -LEX18 Lexington KY Newsall 1,200 news […]
[…] Runaway Teen Found in FloridaABC NewsTeens on alleged crime spree captured in FloridaTribune-ReviewCrime spree ends: 18-year-old Dalton Hayes captured with 13-year-old girlfriend …The Global DispatchNews 10NBC -LEX18 Lexington KY News -Bustleall 1,150 news […]