Not all superheroes wear capes. This statement couldn’t have been more true for Florida man Shane Spicer. Spicer, an Army veteran, was waiting for coffee at Starbucks when he saw the cops in a high-speed chase with a dangerous suspect.
Spicer said he lived about a mile from Ocala Starbucks and was “Just getting started with the day.” He also said that he had been awake for about 20 to 25 minutes before he witnessed the high-speed chase.
According to reports, the cops wanted the suspect, Michael Prouty, for allegedly breaking into someone’s home and stealing their car. However, he drove off and crashed into a busy intersection, leading to the chase.
Consequently, the chase ended near an Ocala Starbucks, where Spicer was waiting in line for his coffee. On spotting Prouty, Spicer noticed something was off about him, and he was, in fact, right.
“Sprinting up to Starbucks, and he didn’t look like a Starbucks coffee drinker,” Spicer said. Aside from Prouty’s features, which gave him out, he tried to carjack an innocent bystander, making Spicer spring into action.
The Army veteran revealed that seeing Prouty try to carjack an innocent girl at Starbucks drive-thru didn’t sit right with him, and his body knew he had to do something. “Then he yanked the girl out of the car. And just kind of an instinctive, kind of reactionary thing,” Spicer said.
Giving credence to Spicer’s account of the incident, Dashcam footage shows Prouty allegedly trying to carjack an unidentified woman. However, Spicer jumped into the passenger seat and tried to stop him. The Army veteran decided he wasn’t going to let Prouty slip away.
“I’m going to get you, buddy!” Spicer said. “You’re not going anywhere now! You crossed the line!” The army veteran added.
Besides the Dashcam footage, the body camera video also shows Spicer holding onto Prouty while the officers run up to apprehend him.
According to reports, the intersection crash left many hurt. However, Spicer was unhurt. The Army veteran revealed he walked away from the takedown “just a little out of breath.”
While Spicer was helping the unidentified woman tackle Prouty, his girlfriend and young daughter were in the car. Although they didn’t comment on the incident, they must have been proud of Spicer’s bravery.
When asked about his reason for taking down the carjacker, Spicer said, “I feel like if you’ve got the ability to watch out for someone, that you should.” He added, “I would just hope that someone would do the same for my family.”
According to the cops, if Prouty had been successful, it would have been his second carjacking of the day. However, thanks to Spicer, the cops were able to arrest Prouty.
While none of the witnesses knew Prouty, he was familiar with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. According to reports, he had just gotten out of prison in February after serving five years for robbery.
Since the year 2000, he has reportedly had 13 different felony convictions. In addition, the Ocala Police Department said he has other charges pending in Miami.
Following the incident, Ocala Police say they don’t want to encourage people to run toward dangerous criminals. However, they did have a message for Spicer. “We’re always looking for good officers, and from what we can tell from his actions from what we witnessed, he would be someone we’d love to hire,” said Capt. Keuntjes.
