Kevin Campana’s brief journey in a stolen vehicle this week began with a barefoot walk in a car repair shop and ended in a ditch ― and with Campana jailed on Christmas Eve.
Campana, a 31-year-old Edgewater man with a series of arrests in Volusia County, was caught on video walking barefoot onto the Hibiscus Wholesale Auto Parts lot at 115 N. Flagler Ave. in Edgewater just before 10 p.m. Dec. 23.
He walked up to a lock box, pried it open, took out a key for a black Nissan Versa and drove away in the car, according to an Edgewater Police Department report.
Officers found Campana after midnight, and a chase ensued.
A Volusia Sheriff’s deputy put out stop sticks, but Campana drover around them before heading down Maytown Road toward the Interstate 95 overpass and into Oak Hill.
Campana turned north onto Oak Hill Ranch Road, driving fast along the single-lane dirt road dotted with mud puddles.
The chase continued onto an unnamed road lined with mobile homes and crops, where an officer tried to stop Campana with PIT maneuvers, but he circled around a property and went back down the road.
The journey ended when Camapana tried to drive around an officer and went into a ditch, flipping the Versa.
Campana told police that he knew the car wasn’t his.
“Campana further stated he knows he is going to prison for this,” according to the report.
Police took Campana to AdventHealth in New Smyrna Beach before transporting him to the Volusia County Branch Jail. He was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, burglary, fleeing police and driving with a revoked license.
He was already facing charges in another case. For those charges, he has no bond.
The Edgewater Police Department shared video and a cheeky holiday post about the incident:
“‘Twas the eve of Christmas Eve, and all through the town, a criminal named Kevin was causing a frown.
He broke into Hibiscus, with no shoes on his feet, And stole a customer’s car — what a real Christmas treat!”
The poem ends with a warning to would-be criminals: “We’ll catch you, we’ll stop you, we’ll always prevail, In Edgewater, no one escapes the law’s trail!”
Campana has a lengthy arrest history in Volusia County stretching back to 2011, according to court records.
Most recently he was arrested on Dec. 18 at Mullinax Ford in New Smyrna Beach after he was seen pulling on car door handles and opening a couple of car doors, which he denied. He was charged with burglary, loitering or prowling and possession of burglary tools with intent to use.
Campana’s convictions include grand theft of a motor vehicle in 2023, according to Volusia County court records.
This year, he was also found guilty of felony petit theft after taking a package from a porch. It had two bags of dog food in it. He said he was picking up a package for a friend, according to a police report. Court records say the charge was a felony because of previous theft convictions.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida man spends holidays in jail after wrecking stolen car in chase
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