Winter Haven man applies for job, carjacks in parking lot

Photo from PCSO's X page

​The Polk County Sheriff's Office updated their X with a post regarding why there was more traffic than usual on Interstate 4 near US 27 near Davenport on Friday, October 6.

According to the post, the result was due to an incident involving 23-year old Jacob Thompson of Winter Haven.

The department's release is posted in full below:

"If you saw a mess of traffic (more than usual) on Interstate 4 near US 27 near Davenport on Friday, October 6th, here's what happened..

Friday afternoon at around 4:30pm, 23-year old Jacob Thompson of Winter Haven stopped off at the Pilot Travel Center at 7990 State Road 60 in Bartow, wanting to speak to someone at the store about a job. Nobody was available to interview Thompson at the time, and he was asked to come back on Monday. Thompson completed an employment application with the store.

At about 4:47pm, PCSO deputies were dispatched to the store regarding a carjacking which had just occurred. Any guesses as to who the suspect was?

PCSO detectives say that Thompson stole a 2022 Cadillac XT4 from a West Palm Beach man. Thompson nearly ran over the victim as he begged him not to take his vehicle.

PCSO units began tracking the vehicle remotely. It headed north on US 27, then exited onto I4 westbound.

At that point, Thompson began traveling at a high speed and ended up losing control and crashing.

Deputies began arriving at the crash scene while Thompson was running from it.

Thompson was captured soon after. He had minor boo-boos from the crash, so he was treated for those and then taken to the Polk Pokey.

Jacob Thompson was charged with: Armed Burglary of a Conveyance, Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. Fleeing to Elude, Possession of Firearm by Convicted Felon, Possession of Ammo by Convicted Felon, Grand Theft of Firearm, Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony, Resist w/o Violence, Leaving the Scene of Crash, DWLSR, and Violation of Probation
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We don't think he's going to make it to the interview on Monday."