Daytona Beach Police shot a robbery and carjacking suspect after he stole a patrol car

By JAY STAPLETON 
Staff Writer - 11/23/02

DAYTONA BEACH -  Police shot a robbery and carjacking  
suspect after he stole a patrol car early Friday and tried to run 
down a police officer, launching a wild high-speed chase 
that lasted 20 minutes before the suspect was nabbed.

Anthony N. Fisher, 39, of DeLand, "resisted all the way to the 
hospital," said police spokesman Sgt. Al Tolley.

Fisher was taken into custody and remained at Halifax Medical 
Center late Friday after he was shot once in the arm, chased by
police and sheriff's deputies and bitten by a police dog.

Police were trying to talk to Fisher, in the 1200 block of Beville Road,
about a hit-and-run accident he was seen walking away from Thursday
involving a stolen Cadillac.

That's when officers say Fisher pushed them away and jumped
behind the wheel of the patrol car. Police Sgt. William Walden
reached into the car to try to prevent Fisher from taking the 
car and was dragged alongside as Fisher attempted to drive away. 
Police said Fisher then drove at them in reverse, knocking Walden
to the ground as another officer dove for cover.

After pushing Walden and jumping in his car, Fisher backed the cruiser
over Walden's foot, police said, striking another vehicle.

That's when Walden fired four quick shots, striking Fisher 
once in the right arm. The bullet didn't keep Fisher from trying
to get away, police said. With speeds reaching 100 mph, police said
as many as 18 patrol cars chased the stolen cruiser from Beville Road
onto Interstate 95 north to Holly Hill, then back into Daytona Beach.

Fisher tried using chatter he heard over the police radio to avoid capture. 

"He even made a U-turn," Tolley said. "It was assumed he was listening 
at that point."

A Volusia County sheriff's helicopter kept watch from above. A Daytona 
Beach police officer tailing Fisher lost control of his cruiser on
Nova Road and crashed into a tree near Sixth Street, police said,
escaping serious injury.

At one point, police in the chase said they were close enough to
see a smile on Fisher's face. Emergency lights on the stolen
patrol car were still flashing when Fisher was finally stopped - 
by spike strips put down by sheriff's deputies - on Fentress Boulevard.

But Fisher wasn't ready for the handcuffs, police said. He ran and was
taken down by a police dog. The 1:30 a.m. arrest ended a long night
for police, who had spent more than nine hours looking for Fisher 
as a suspect in an armed carjacking and two subsequent cash-snatching
robberies near the beach.

The crime spree began Thursday when an elderly couple's tan Cadillac
was taken at knifepoint at 5:15 p.m. near Beville Road in South Daytona,
police said. Although Fisher has not yet been charged in the carjacking
or two cash-grabbing robberies that followed, police said they are
piecing together evidence in the crimes and more charges could follow.

In police custody, Fisher was being treated Friday night at Halifax
Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition. Fisher is
a 12-time convicted felon, according to published reports.

William Lane, 76, of Daytona Beach, who is vice chairman of the 
Beachside Neighborhood Watch, said Friday it was his car that was
originally stolen after he gave Fisher a ride. "I'm glad they shot
him," Lane said. "I wouldn't have minded a bit if they got him
between the eyes."


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