| The State of Florida vs. Shami
Suber
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| Chapter 2- “I’ve got the victim in the other
car. Signal 4. She’s not
breathing." . |
Lt. Commander Stonebreaker
tells the Deputies to be ready with the stop sticks-“He’s probably not going to
stop here.” Deputy Kyle Petersen, located at the apartment complex .2 miles west on
Lokanotosa Trail, deploys his stop sticks in the west bound lane as Stonebreaker, Hopkins
and Gardiner activate lights and sirens and begin the felony stop. Deputy Wynn reminds
everyone of his location; “Got sticks at Lokanotosa and Rouse.” As the procession goes past
a pedestrian crossing the lead car, the unknown black car, slows and stops in response to
the lights, sirens and Deputy Petersen’s stop sticks. As the black car, the silver
Jetta and the three Deputies slow and come to a stop an eastbound vehicle turns in front
of them into the apartment complex entrance where Deputy Petersen’s vehicle is
parked. A pick-up stops at the apartment exit, and the taillights of a westbound third car
can be seen a couple of hundred yards ahead-the green Ford Escort driven by Sarah
Phillips. It is at this point that the
situation begins to get out of control. A compounding series of misjudgments,
misunderstandings and mistakes begins that will lead to the needless death of an innocent
20 year-old college student. At this point Sarah Phillips has less than two minutes to
live. One of the Deputies
following the silver Jetta radios that the suspect vehicle is not the black car, it is the
second car-a silver Jetta. This statement would later confuse Deputy Greg Wynn, the Deputy
with the stop sticks further west on Lokanotosa Trail. As they stop, Sgt. Hopkins,
Vehicle #2 (the vehicle to the left of the suspect) in the Felony Stop, stops with his
front bumper even with the rear bumper of the of the silver Jetta. Felony Stop procedures
require that his front bumper should be even with the front bumper of the silver Jetta.
This would have allowed two things. First it would have restricted the movement of the
silver Jetta and secondly it would have allowed Sgt. Hopkins to utilize the cover of the
engine block of his vehicle. Could this have made a difference in the outcome? Perhaps,
perhaps not. Sgt. Hopkins also opted not
use the technique of Tactical Parking. This would have involved placing his vehicle in a
position that would have prevented the silver Jetta from fleeing. Properly executed, the
subsequent fleeing and the resultant pursuit would not have occurred. As Lt. Commander
Stonebreaker warned the Deputies of the potential of crossfire, Deputy Petersen
inexplicably removed the stop sticks from in front of the black car and motioned it
forward. As the black car began to move forward the driver mysteriously stuck his arm out
the window and motioned the silver Jetta forward. The Jetta moved slightly forward and
then jutted to the left of the black car. In a panic Deputy Petersen futilely threw his
withdrawn stop sticks at the silver Jetta as one of the other Deputies yelled over his
loudspeaker, “Stop silver car. Stop.” The
silver Jetta accelerated down the road. Sgt. Hopkins jumped back
into his car and sped after the silver Jetta. Deputy Greg Wynn, seeing a dark colored car
coming toward his position, a car going at or near the 25-mph speed limit with no Deputies
in hot pursuit asked a critical question. Wynn-“It’s the
first car, right?” Wynn-“Sticks down. Car
coming.” The green Ford Escort rolled
to a stop nearly beside Wynn’s vehicle, which was parked facing west in the eastbound
lane, with its road lights and emergency lights on. Perhaps in response to Wynn’s
deployed stop sticks. Perhaps in response to Wynn’s vehicle. Certainly puzzled or
fearful of the events she was unwittingly a part of. Had she observed the lights and
sirens at the original stop at the eastern end of Lokanotosa? Almost certainly. Had she
noticed the stop sticks in her path? Almost certainly. Was she fearful of what lay ahead
as she approached Wynn’s vehicle? Almost certainly. As she stopped and looked to her
left, across the hood of Wynn’s vehicle, could she see him standing in the dark with
the string to the stop sticks? Maybe. Did Deputy Wynn look into Sarah Phillips’ face
in the moments before impact? Later testimony reveals that he did. And what did Deputy
Wynn do in the time it took Ms. Phillips to drive the 700+ feet from the crest of the
small rise where her car first became visible and where he asked the
question-“It’s the first car, right?” What did Deputy Wynn do in the 5-15
seconds she was stopped by his vehicle? He withdrew his stop sticks,
and raised his right arm in anticipation of motioning her through the area. Recognizing
the error did he rush to the side of the road, where Ms. Phillips could see him, and
motion her through his position? No. Did he
move from his “safe” position from the bushes to the left of his vehicle? No. Did he
shout for Ms. Phillips to get down the road? No. He withdrew his stop sticks, and raised
his right arm in anticipation of motioning her through the area. How
far was Ms. Phillips from safety? She was less than 100 feet from the “T”
intersection of As
Deputy Wynn looked over the hood of his vehicle at Ms. Phillips, Shamir Suber in the
silver Jetta bore down on her at 70-mph. The silver Jetta impacted the green Escort
resulting in an explosion of plastic, glass, and steel. The Escort was propelled, slightly
to the right and 170 feet across the intersection and came to rest against a guy wire of a
utility pole. The silver Jetta went slightly left, grazed a tree, and came to rest on the
grass across The
next voice on the dispatch tape is that of Deputy Greg Wynn. End of
Chapter 2
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