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Police: Pinellas Park teen steals gun from vehicle, shoots man chasing him

Teen vehicle burglaries and thefts are common in Pinellas County. But this time, someone was shot.

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - In what has become a reoccurring theme in Pinellas County, a teenager faces charges for breaking into a vehicle - but this time he used a gun stolen from one vehicle to shoot the owner of another vehicle.

Brandon Paul Roman, 17, of Pinellas Park, was searching for unlocked vehicles in the area of 62nd Street and 106th Avenue North when he found one with a handgun inside, Pinellas Park police said.

Roman then went to the 6200 block of 106th Avenue, when Alexander Weaver, 28, saw him breaking into his vehicle, police said.

"Weaver, seeing Roman, confronted him and began chasing him down the street," police said in a statement. "While being chased by Mr. Weaver, Brandon Roman pulled out the stolen firearm and began shooting at Mr. Weaver, striking him one time in the arm causing a non-life threatening gunshot wound."

Roman is charged with one count each of attempted felony murder and aggravated assault with a firearm and two counts each of armed burglary, delinquent in possession of a firearm and violation of probation (he was previously convicted of grand theft motor vehicle).

Ongoing problem

Teen vehicle burglaries and thefts are an ongoing problem in Pinellas County, one punctuated by the deaths of three teenage "prolific offenders" in October 2017 after their stolen vehicle was involved in a head-on collision during a police pursuit.

Four teenagers in a stolen van were arrested Feb. 1 following a police chase.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri has described teen vehicle thefts as a 'deadly epidemic.'

But authorities say there has been progress. Auto thefts in St. Petersburg are down for the second consecutive year - 978 compared to 1,095 in 2016 and 1,523 in 2015.

One reason behind the decline is Habitual Offender Monitoring Enforcement (H.O.M.E.), a program where officers are assigned to conduct regular home checks on juvenile offenders on home detention.

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