Brandon Damon Ross, Vero man, flees after alleged theft, crashes into tree with infant in car

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A shoplifter fled WalMart and crashed into two trees with an infant in his car before he was apprehended Tuesday, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office said.

Brandon Damon Ross, 26, of the 4600 block of 28th Court, Vero Beach, continued to flee on foot when he handed the child to a Sheriff's deputy outside the Ryanwood Shopping Plaza in the 5500 block of 20th Street, Vero Beach, according to the affidavit. With the help of a bystander who tackled Ross as he tried to run again, the deputy took him into custody, the Sheriff's Office said.

The series of events began at WalMart, also in the 5500 block of 20th, when Ross walked out of the store with a couple of televisions without paying for them and put them in his Pontiac about 11:22 a.m. Tuesday, the Sheriff's Office said. Loss prevention staff called for deputies and confronted Ross in the parking lot, the affidavit states.

As a deputy arrived, Ross pulled out of the parking spot and fled in the Pontiac, the Sheriff's Office said. He plowed through a tree in the west end of the parking lot and drove north, the deputy said. Ross crashed the Pontiac into a second tree at Ryanwood, his affidavit states.

The deputy caught up with Ross, who was walking north on 58th carrying the baby, according to the affidavit.

No information was available about the identity of the child.

Ross was charged with retail theft of more than $300, fleeing law enforcement, resisting arrest without violence and leaving the scene of a crash with property damage. He remained at the Indian River County Jail Wednesday in lieu of $30,000 bail.