DELTONA, Fla. — A Deltona man is in custody after he shot at deputies during a standoff that lasted for hours Wednesday morning, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
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The man is accused of stealing from a store, shooting at Volusia County deputies and then setting his own house on fire.
The man drove his vehicle to his home on Whitehorse Court in Deltona where he was held deputies at bay for hours.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said his deputies had the equipment they needed to protect themselves.
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Deputies said the man stole cigarettes from a Wawa gas station around 4:30 a.m. and then drove off in his truck.
Deputies chased him back to his home.
That’s when deputies say they commanded him to get out of his truck, he refused, so they approached with their shields up.
The man then shot at them and grazed one of the deputies in the face.
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SWAT units used heavy machines to push his truck into the home’s garage and the man started a fire that spread to the entire home, according to the sheriff’s office.
“I’ll start off by saying this. I’ve seen a lot of crazy [expletive] in 36 years. This was absolutely the craziest,” Chitwood said.
Chitwood said the suspect told deputies he’d fight them and not surrender.
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Eventually, law enforcement was able to take him into custody.
The sheriff says he plans to release the man’s name and body camera video later Wednesday.
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