Man charged with stealing SUV, killing owner, leading police on chase to Coral Gables
A man who stole an SUV just before dawn Thursday in Miami struck and killed the woman who owned the vehicle before leading police on a cat-and-mouse chase until his eventual capture, police said.
Jonah Desaulniers, 23, was taken into custody about a half hour later and a mile away from where he is alleged to have stolen the brown Honda SUV. He was charged with first-degree murder and taken to Larkin Community Hospital after a crash, where doctors cleared and released him. He was taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and has been denied bond.
Miami Police said it was about 5:45 a.m. Thursday when Desaulniers stole 71-year-old Mercedes Lopez’s vehicle from near Southwest 27th Avenue and 22nd Terrace. His arrest report said police arrived moments later and found Lopez unresponsive on the roadway and were unable to revive her.
Five minutes later, Coral Gables police said, they responded to a hit-and-run with another vehicle at Miracle Mile and Salzedo Street. A Gables officer saw the Honda SUV with front-end damage and realized it matched the stolen vehicle that had struck and killed the woman. He followed it to Southwest 32nd Avenue and U.S. 1 and took Desaulniers into custody.
This story was originally published February 24, 2023 at 3:50 PM.
