Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Press Release
April 17, 2025 – North Port, FL
The suspect of a shooting in a Port Charlotte Walmart parking lot was arrested in North Port after he led law enforcement on a high-speed chase.
Just before 1:00am this morning, Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office STAR (Strategic Targeted Area Response) deputies were in the area of Camilla Lane due to receiving a tip that a wanted violent felony suspect, Anthony Mojica (03/17/2005), was hiding out there. While watching the area, they observed a white Nissan Altima being driven by Mojica.
As one of the deputies caught up to the vehicle and activated his emergency lights, the Nissan swerved into the opposite lane, turned off its headlights, and took off at a high rate of speed. The deputy initiated a pursuit, which was assisted by the North Port Police Department as it entered their jurisdiction. The pursuit reached speeds over 100MPH on the mostly empty streets, with the Nissan often driving on the wrong side of the road in its efforts to escape.
As the pursuit continued onto I75 Northbound, the vehicle swerved in and out of lanes to prevent law enforcement from attempting a PIT (Precision Immobilization Technique) maneuver. At times, the vehicle exceeded speeds of 120MPH on the interstate. Near mile marker 180, the front tire of the Nissan began to deteriorate, caused by the successful deployment of stop sticks by NPPD, resulting in the vehicle slowing to around 65MPH. With the speed reduction and an opportunity with little to no traffic around, a PIT maneuver was then utilized to stop the vehicle, finally coming to rest near mile marker 182.
“I want to thank my STAR team and the North Port Police Department for their efforts in taking this violent criminal into custody. Unfortunately, these incidents seem to be coming more prevalent, but your Sheriff’s Office is on it. We will not give up and we will make sure we track down individuals like this and put them where they belong! I am very proud of my staff for their relentless pursuit of these criminals.