At approximately 9 a.m. Thursday morning, Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s deputies responded to an incident where it was reported that an individual in a black BMW had shot at another vehicle at the Publix in Navarre. Deputies shortly located the suspect vehicle, and a high-speed chase ensued. During the vehicle chase, spike strips were deployed without success.
Sheriff Bob Johnson said in a press conference this morning that speeds reached up to 180 mph and lasted for 50 or 60 miles. During the chase, as the car neared the Yellow River Bridge, Eagan tossed two backpacks from the car. The backpacks contained the gun, modified with a Glock switcher switch which turns the handgun into a fully automatic weapon. It also contained trafficking amounts of methamphetamine.
Johnson classified this as a road rage incident. The victim’s vehicle was struck multiple times, but no one was injured.
Through continued investigations, the sheriff’s office was able to locate the suspect’s vehicle at the 8200 block of Molina St. in Navarre and was towed to the Sheriff’s Office. The car was registered to an owner in Fairhope, Ala. and did not belong to Eagan.
Eagan was out on bond for a previous charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
“Hopefully, they will revoke his bond on this. And if they revoke his bond on the other charge, he will not be getting out of jail anytime soon,” Johnson said.
“If he does get out, he should find a new line of work,” Johnson said. “He is terrible at being a criminal.”
