Apopka man accused of using assault rifle to steal car in broad daylight

APOPKA, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Apopka Police arrested 27-year-old Cedrick Gant after they said he stole a car using a big gun and then broke into a stranger’s home.

According to arrest affidavits, Gant on Monday morning approached a woman outside of her home on Sugarsand Ct. in Apopka. The victim told officers that man approached her with a large "assault-style" rifle and took her gray Ford Escape.

Officers tracked the suspect driving in the stolen car a short distance away, and they say he eventually tried to evade them, at one point, driving the wrong way down U.S. Highway 441.

In the area of U.S. Hwy 441 and Roger Williams Road, police said they executed the PIT maneuver and disabled the stolen car into the median, but that the man then took off on foot into a near-by neighborhood.

"He ran over here and came in our house actually this morning,” said Carl Foster who lives about a block up the road from where the car was stopped.

Foster’s roommate told police the suspect burst into their home and reportedly “appeared to be on some kind of drugs” when he asked to use a phone and the roommate allowed him to avoid confrontation. He said the man then took one of his shirts.

Foster said the man fled through a back window and into a near-by woods where police fount Gant and arrested him.

Police Chief Mike McKinley said they found a high powered rifle inside the vehicle.

Gant faces 11 charges including armed carjacking, robbery with a firearm, theft, and obstruction of justice. He was transported Monday afternoon to the Orange County Jail and did not speak to reporters during the transfer.