LARGO, Fla. – For the second time in less than two years, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office is mourning the loss of a deputy. Late Thursday night, Deputy Mike Hartwick was providing security at a construction site along I-275 when he was struck and killed by a man driving a front-end loader who then fled, according to the county sheriff’s office Pinellas. Dashcam video of Hartwick shows him getting out of his cruiser and walking onto the shoulder of the road. About a minute later, the video shows a construction truck passing southbound and then being passed by a front-end loader at about 20 miles per hour. The video shows him passing the front of Deputy Hartwick’s car and a white pickup truck was behind him and accompanying him. Then the white truck comes to a screeching halt because the front loader had hit and killed Deputy Hartwick. The operator of the front-end loader continued, according to the PCSO.
Juan Ariel Molina-Salles, also known as Victor Vasquez-Real, is accused of striking and killing a Pinellas County deputy at a construction site. Mugshot via Pinellas Sheriff’s Office Deputies say the driver of the front-end loader eventually pulled over and told another construction worker that he had just killed a deputy. He then took off his construction hat and traffic vest. He handed the items to another construction worker, later identified as Elieser Aurelio Gomez-Zelaya, and told him to hide them and get rid of them. The suspect then fled northbound on foot. A nine-hour manhunt ensued in Pinellas County and Tampa. The search involved all of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s K9s, three helicopters, Pasco County hunters and hundreds of law enforcement officers.

Aerial view: Procession for deputy killed on I-275

Deputy Michael Hartwick was killed late Thursday night along a construction site on Interstate 275 in Pinellas County. One of the K9s found the vest and helmet, which the other builder threw in the woods. A hound that was given the scent on the items was able to track down the suspect. The suspect initially told law enforcement officers that his name was Victor Vasquez-Real. He said he was 35 years old and from Puerto Rico. However, Gualtieri says it was a load of nonsense. Deputies at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office mourn the loss of fellow deputy Michael Hartwick, (Courtesy of Aaron Mesmer) His real name, according to Gualtieri, is Juan Ariel Molina-Salles. He is 32 years old and Gualtieri says he entered the country illegally on October 25, 2021, in Eagle Pass Texas. The border patrol turned him in and sent him back to Mexico. Gualtieri says there is no record of him entering the United States legally. Gualtieri says there were many construction workers at the site and the majority of them lied to deputies and hindered the investigation by providing false names and information. According to the PCSO, all of the construction workers were employed by Archer Western, a contractor that performed work for the Florida Department of Transportation out of Tampa. “This company employs a bunch of illegals and they’re all out there giving us fake names, fake IDs, a lot of fake IDs from North Carolina that really thwarted this investigation. This guy we have in custody is here illegally AND he got away , he said, because he was scared after he killed the deputy. He clearly knew he killed the deputy because when he was busted outside last night he had a cell phone on. We had some ways of tracking what he did with his cell phone and he called his roommate in Tampa, who’s another guy who’s here illegally. He came and tried to get him. He saw all the law enforcement activity and called him back and said, ‘I’m not involved in this,’ and he turned around and went back to Tampa.”

Previous coverage: Suspect arrested in hit-and-run killing of deputy on I-275

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office says a worker suspected of accidentally hitting and killing a deputy in a construction zone on Interstate 275 late Thursday night has been captured after nearly 10 hours on the run. He added, “You got a bunch of outlaws working for this government contractor out there. They shouldn’t be here and they shouldn’t be working and they shouldn’t be out here doing this. This guy was going, I think also Quick, for this thing. Again, he knew he hit a deputy and as opposed to stopping, rendering aid and accepting responsibility for what he did, we had to go after him and sift through all this nonsense with all these people lying and providing fake IDs and we spent nine hours out there chasing this thing.”

Raw video: Pinellas deputy killed in hit-and-run

Law enforcement shut down I-275 to search for the suspect According to Gualtieri, Molina-Salles told the construction company he was doing construction in Honduras, so they brought him on board. Gualtieri added that Molina-Sales gave the company a fake ID. “He didn’t have a driver’s license. He doesn’t have anything. He shouldn’t have been here in the first place and he shouldn’t be driving. He shouldn’t be working… He’s not qualified to drive a front loader,” he explained. “It’s not without victims,” ​​Gualrieri said. “We have a dead congressman. We have a guy who shouldn’t have been here. He shouldn’t have been driving this thing. He shouldn’t have left. He shouldn’t have done any of this and companies are out there doing this. Why the are they doing? Of course, that’s a rhetorical question and I’ll answer it. They’re doing it because they’re making money off of it. So, they’re making money off of a dead congressman now? Is it worth it? Really?”

Previous coverage: Search for suspect who hit and killed Pinellas deputy on I-275

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office is searching for construction worker Victor Vasquez, who they say struck and killed Deputy Michael Hartwick with a front-end loader in a construction zone on I-275 as the deputy was helping with traffic control. Investigators say Vasquez then gave his helmet and vest to another worker and fled on foot. According to Gualtieri, local law enforcement does not have jurisdiction to enforce immigration. “I can’t put them in jail,” he declared. “There’s absolutely nothing I can do with them. The most I can do is what you can do — pick up the phone and call ICE and say you’ve got a guy who’s here illegally.” Gualtieri says he has received an inmate at Molina-Salles, which means if he is released at some point, PCSO would not release him because of this. Then he was picked up by ICE. Molina-Salles faces charges of leaving the scene of an accident with death. This is a first-degree felony with a mandatory minimum of four years in state prison. Gomez-Zelaya, who also lied about his identity, was charged with accessory after the fact.
“It’s just sad,” the sheriff said. “It really is… I look at it like, really, that’s twice in 18 months now. We’ve gone 109 years without going into service and now you’re going two in 19 months, but it’s the nature of the business…we put the bad guys in custody where they belong and that’s out of respect for Mike.” In February 2021, Pinellas County Deputy Michael Magli was killed by an accused drunk driver who plowed into him while trying to stop the suspect. Magli was the first deputy in Pinellas County to be killed in the line of duty. Deputy Hartwick served as a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Deputy for 19 years, assigned to the Bureau of Patrol Operations. He is survived by his mother and two grown children.

Pinellas Sheriff: Construction worker kills deputy on I-275

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri gives a press briefing on the deputy who was struck and killed in a construction zone on I-275 overnight.