JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX I-TEAM uncovered new information Thursday about a man accused of carjacking a pizza delivery driver and leading police on a high-speed chase that ended in a crash with a police cruiser last week.
Dashboard camera footage obtained by News4JAX captured the pursuit Jan. 11 on Interstate 295 near St. Johns Bluff Road, which showed the driver, identified by police as 20-year-old Jawon Guyton, losing control of the stolen vehicle and careening across three lanes of traffic.
According to a police report, Guyton robbed a Papa Johns delivery driver at gunpoint on Atlantic Avenue and then stole the driver’s Toyota Corolla with the assistance of another man.
As the delivery driver got into his vehicle and placed the delivery on the passenger seat, a man approached him on the driver’s side, the report said. After getting out of his vehicle, the driver noticed another man standing about 4 to 5 feet behind the first man begin to walk toward the passenger side. The other man then opened the passenger door as the second person got inside on the passenger side, the report stated.
A police officer noticed Guyton was driving erratically, which led to a chase that exceeded over 80 mph before he lost control and hit a guardrail, the report said. Police said Guyton was the only one in the vehicle at the time of the crash.
This isn’t the first time Guyton has been accused of stealing a car and trying to escape arrest. According to a prior police report, Guyton was accused of stealing a car from an apartment complex in April 2021.
The report stated that an officer saw the alleged stolen vehicle run a stop sign at A.C. Skinner Parkway and Salisbury Road. Then the vehicle could not turn in time at the dead end and crashed into a JEA power box, shutting off power in the entire surrounding area.
Guyton was charged with vehicle theft, resisting police, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. After 10 months, however, all charges were dropped with the following statement from the State Attorney’s Office in the disposition in October:
“After reviewing the evidence in the above-styled case, the undersigned Assistant State Attorney declines to prosecute this defendant for these charges and any civil charges. The proper authorities have been notified by copy of this notice to release the defendant from custody.”
A disposition statement from the state attorney’s office reads in part:
“While the State would prevail in proving the elements of the crime, (defendant) entered into a deferred prosecution agreement after speedy trial had expired. The attoney for (defendant) did not catch this and it would give cause for a 3.850 motion. The State will be dropping the FPTI case for this reason. It should be noted, (defendant) has open CR-G case for Unlicensed Carrying of a Firearm and will be pursuing those charges.”