Photos for HeadlineSurfer® / Thomas D. Rice, 46, was arrested by a Volusia County Sheriff's k9 unit after allegedly shoplifting a bunch of items from the Wal-Mart on Howland Boulevard in Deltona, Florida, on Monday night.
DELTONA, Fla. -- An alleged Wal-Mart shoplifter who threatened a loss prevention officer with a knife Monday night, after he fled the store, 101 Howland Blvd., in an SUV, crashed it and then jumped into a creek in an unsuccessful attempt to elude a Sheriff’s K9, which took him down.
Thomas D. Rice, 46, who bonded out of jail earlier today, was apprehended shortly after 7 p.m. Monday after he wrecked on the 600 block of State Road 415, minutes after the confrontation at Wal-Mart.
At the Wal-Mart, the loss prevention officer told deputies he witnessed Rice picking random items off the shelf before leaving the store without making any attempt to pay.
Here is a synopsis of what occurred as described by Sheriff's spookesman Andrew Gant in an email to Headline Surfer®: When the officer confronted Rice just outside the door, he said Rice pulled a knife and warned: “Get back or I’ll stab you.” Rice got in his vehicle and started to drive away. As he did, the Wal-Mart officer reached inside the vehicle, grabbed one of the stolen items – a baseball bat – and used it to hit the driver’s side door of Rice's Toyota Highlander as he sped off.
Here is a synopsis of what occurred as described by Sheriff's spookesman Andrew Gant in an email to Headline Surfer®: When the officer confronted Rice just outside the door, he said Rice pulled a knife and warned: “Get back or I’ll stab you.” Rice got in his vehicle and started to drive away. As he did, the Wal-Mart officer reached inside the vehicle, grabbed one of the stolen items – a baseball bat – and used it to hit the driver’s side door of Rice's Toyota Highlander as he sped off.
Gant said a deputy dispatched to the call spotted the vehicle fleeing on Staye Road 415.
The deputy turned around to attempt a traffic stop, and Rice tried to get away by turning down a dirt road. When two deputies followed, they found Rice’s SUV had crashed into a dirt berm as he was running off.
After several warnings, K9 deputy Kyle Walter released his k9 partner, Axe to run after him. Rice sprinted into some woods and jumped into a creek full of water, trying to cross to the other side. Before he could get there, the powerful German shepherd clamped his jaws on one of Rice's legs.
It was at this point, the alleged shoplifter began digging an unknown object into Axe’s head with his hand.
The deputy wasn’t immediately able to tell what the object was – or if it was a knife – as Rice refused commands to drop it. Then Rice revealed he was using a set of keys to dig into the top of Axe’s head.
Deputy Walter moved in to stop Rice from hurting Axe. Rice continued to struggle, but he dropped the keys and was taken into custody without furether incident.
The dog was bleeding from an abrasion to the top of his head and was taken to DeLand Animal Hospital for treatment.
Axe, on the crime-fighting beat since December 2013, suffered a small abrasion to his scalp, but will be not taking any leave absence from his duties, Gant later told Headline Surfer® in an email update.
Rice was charged with armed robbery, grand theft, fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement, resisting arrest and an offense against a police dog by intentionally and maliciously causing bodily harm, all felonies.
Gant said Rice was taken into custody and transported to Florida Hospital Fish Memorial for treatment of his injuries, which were not life threatening.
In Rice's Toyota Higthlander, deputies recovered 41 items with price tags still attached from the Wal-Mart shoplifting incident, totaling $812.83. Among the stolen items, according to the arrest report: