Deputies use airboat to arrest 2 who ran into Deltona lake

Two men arrested late Wednesday in Deltona attempted to evade capture by running from deputies and hiding in a lake, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

Hylan Hill, 23, and Edward Ross, 24, were the respective driver and rear-seat passenger of a Nissan sedan that allegedly fled from deputies twice that night, in the second instance traveling at 65 mph in a 35 mph zone, the sheriff’s office said on social media.

A pursuit that began in that second instance ended at a residence in the dead end of Barger Drive as the sedan struck a parked vehicle and the two men bailed out, the post states. Another passenger who was in the car emerged shortly after and was placed in handcuffs, yet they were later released without charges, according to the sheriff’s office.

Hill and Ross ran behind the residence, prompting deputies to form a perimeter and search the area with help from K-9 units and Air One, the sheriff’s office’s aviation unit, according to Hill's arrest affidavit. Air One was able to locate the men in a lake, just northeast of the bailout location, the affidavit states.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to the scene with an airboat that the deputies used to approach and retrieve Hill and Ross, according to the sheriff’s office. Body-worn camera video shared in the social media post shows deputies making contact with the men and pulling them out of the water.

A search of the Nissan turned up a .40 caliber Glock loaded with an extended magazine, tucked between the driver’s seat and center console, Hill’s affidavit states.

According to Ross’ arrest affidavit, detectives were alerted the following day to a jail call that the 24-year-old had placed to his mother, in which he allegedly told her where to find an item in the woods where the bailout had taken place. Detectives made contact with the owner of the Barger Drive residence, who told the investigators he had located a bag in the area after the incident. That bag contained a loaded .22 caliber Uzi and marijuana weighing 9.8 grams with packaging, the affidavit states.

Hill faces charges of driving while license canceled, suspended or revoked, leaving the scene of a crash with damage to property over $50, fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement with lights and sirens activated, possession of a weapon by an in-state felon, obstructing an officer without violence and possession of a machine gun, records show. He was being held on no bond at the time of this report.

Ross faces charges of obstructing an officer without violence, possession of cannabis not more than 20 grams and tampering with evidence, held on no bond pursuant to a charge of violating probation, records show.