Florida man carjacked woman, led troopers on high-speed chase up I-4, FHP says

A Florida man is facing several charges after allegedly carjacked a woman and then led authorities on a pursuit, before eventually being stopped and arrested. James Seth Yarn, 38, was arrested and booked into jail on several charges, including armed carjacking, kidnapping with a firearm, armed robbery, aggravated assault, among other charges.

A Florida man is facing several charges after allegedly carjacked a woman and then led authorities on a pursuit, before eventually being stopped and arrested. James Seth Yawn, 38, was arrested by FHP and booked into the Seminole jail on several charges, including armed carjacking, kidnapping with a firearm, armed robbery, aggravated assault, among other charges. Authorities said the carjacking happened on Aloma Avenue Wednesday night in Winter Park. Yawn then led authorities in pursuit on EB I-4 in Seminole County. FHP used a PIT maneuver to stop Yawn's vehicle near

WINTER PARK, Fla. - A Florida man is accused of attacking a woman and stealing her car before leading police on a high-speed cross-county chase.

James Seth Yawn, 38, is accused of several criminal violations after police say he drove off in a stolen vehicle and attempted to flee and elude police in a chase on Wednesday night, April 29.

What we know:

The Winter Park Police Department responded to reports of an armed robbery and carjacking at a Panera Bread Bakery on Aloma Avenue, Wednesday evening, April 29.

The department said officers chased the stolen vehicle – with the assistance of a PIT maneuver by Florida Highway Patrol troopers – until the chase ended near mile marker 113 in Deltona on I-4. He was chased for 30 miles – across three counties.

Yawn was said to be traveling at a high speed, weaving in and out of moderate traffic and driving aggressively without regard to the safety of others in the road, a Florida Highway Patrol report said. Yawn was described as having very red, watery, glossy bloodshot eyes and white crust in the corners of his mouth, troopers said. He also showed indicators of being under the influence of cannabis, FHP said.

Yawn told troopers that prior to the armed carjacking, he was traveling in Osceola County, where he visited a gun supply shop and stopped for lunch before he began to believe a member of a cartel was watching him. Afterward, Yawn told troopers he went to a shop near the University of Central Florida to purchase and smoke cannabis, then drove to Winter Park where he burglarized a home, robbed a gas station, and attempted a carjacking before successfully stealing the woman's vehicle.

Armed carjacker under the influence during incident: Arrest report

James Yawn was said to be traveling at a high speed, weaving in and out of moderate traffic and driving aggressively without regard to the safety of others in the road, a Florida Highway Patrol report said. Yawn was described as having very red, watery glossy bloodshot eyes and white crust in the corners of his mouth, troopers said. He also showed indicators of being under the influence of cannabis, FHP said.

A witness account: ‘Pulled out a gun’

A woman told FOX 35 News she and her dad heard the woman screaming outside a Panera Bread location in Winter Park. The witness said Yawn tried to take the woman's purse and keys before taking out a gun and leaving in her car, FOX 35's Stephanie Buffamonte reported.

"We were talking outside and then, all of a sudden, we hear a woman yelling for help," the woman told Buffamonte. "… When he was tackling her and attacking her – she was on the ground – my father and one of his Bible study friends started to hold the guy back."

The witness said Yawn said to "stay back" and started taking off his shirt before reaching into his pants and taking out a gun. Yawn then jumped into the woman's truck and took off, the woman said.