Suspect offered a deputy a vodka spritz is tased after leading deputies on a chase, stealing alcohol

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Sebring, FL - A suspected alcohol thief led Highlands County deputies on a wild pursuit over the weekend.

When it was all over, he flashed a grin at deputies and commented, “You guys had fun though, right?”

It all started just before 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 19, when employees at the Spring Lake Market in Sebring called 911 to report that someone had stolen several alcoholic beverages and walked out.

Deputies said they found the suspect, Richard Christopher Smith, 39, of Miami, driving in circles around the store in his black minivan. Smith sped off after spotting authorities, but not before offering them a drink.

Body cam video showed Smith holding a can of Ketel One vodka spritz out of his window as he drove by a deputy and yelled, “I was just going to give you a drink, that’s it.”

“We don’t know if he was expecting us to just say ‘Cheers!’ and let him go, or what,” the sheriff’s office wrote.

The pursuit lasted several miles until all four of Smith’s tires were flattened by spike strips, and he crashed near the Sebring Airport. Officials said Smith tried to ram two patrol vehicles just before the crash.

Smith then calmly exited the van smoking a cigarette and tried to walk away, authorities said. He was eventually tased and taken into custody on a slew of charges.

In the video, Smith can be heard asking a deputy, “What am I under arrest for?”

“A lot of stupid s*** right now,” the deputy replied.

The charges against Smith include two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, battery on a law enforcement officer, two counts of resisting arrest, DUI, refusal to submit to a DUI test and petit theft.

“Strange things happen all the time when you’re in law enforcement,” the sheriff’s office said. “This one, however, might make the books.”

His bond was set at $120,000.