Perkins
WEST PALM BEACH — A man accused of driving a stolen minivan was arrested Monday morning after he allegedly crashed through a metal fence while trying to elude city police officers.
Will J. Perkins, 47, of West Palm Beach is facing charges of grand theft auto and giving false identification to a law enforcement officer. He was being held at the Palm Beach County Jail on Tuesday night in lieu of $3,000 bail.
According to police, an officer was in the area of 25th Street and Tamarind Avenue at about 8:30 a.m. Monday and assisting another with a disabled vehicle call when he noticed a blue Dodge caravan traveling north on Tamarind. The minivan had been reported as stolen about an hour earlier.
The driver, later identified as Perkins, fled west on 25th Court and continued along various streets before returning to northbound Tamarind, according to a police probable-cause arrest affidavit.
The driver’s door was cracked open slightly as if Perkins planned to jump out at any moment, police said. He drove through a black metal fence at a dead-end on Tamarind Avenue. Perkins and an unidentified passenger then bailed out of the minivan.
Perkins tumbled to the ground and was quickly arrested. After being taken into custody, he gave officers a false name and date of birth, the affidavit said.
The report does not indicate whether police were able to apprehend Perkins’ passenger.
