A man thought to be wearing a bulletproof vest and accused of trying to hurt two young women in DeLand has been apprehended by Lake County Sheriff's deputies.

  • Man accused of wearing bulletproof vest, threatening women in woods
  • Deputies: Women ran out of woods, said someone was trying to hurt them
  • Man tried to drive off, crashed car, which caught fire, deputies said

On Monday morning, a motorist traveling by the Tractor Supply store on North Woodland Boulevard in DeLand spotted two young women running out of nearby woods, waving their arms, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

One said the man had fired a gun and tried to hurt her.

The man, apparently wearing a bulletproof vest, ran out of the woods, got into a silver car and drove off. A witness got the vehicle description and tag number.

A DeLand police officer spotted the suspect car at Glenwood Road and Grand Avenue. He attempted to stop the car, which fled south on Grand and then west on State Road 44.

At Division Street and Fonseca Lane in DeLand, the driver, identified as Mark Sykora, 38, lost control of the car and crashed into trees, where the vehicle caught fire, Volusia deputies said.

Deputies say Sykora tried to run away but was taken into custody just after 9:30 a.m. by a Lake County K-9 unit.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the incident began with a fight in a homeless camp.

“What it may turn out to be is he had an air soft gun at the end of the day but we don’t know that. We’re operating on what the victims are telling us," Sheriff Chitwood said.

Chitwood also said it doesn't matter if it was an air soft gun.

At the time, when they were being interviewed, they believed that it was a real gun and he was trying to kill them," Sheriff Chitwood added. 

No gun, shell casings or bulletproof vest had been recovered yet.

Sykora will be charged with two counts of aggravated assault on the two women, as well as fleeing or attempting to elude DeLand Police, the Volusia Sheriff's Office said.

“He was convicted, I believe it was in 2007 for fondling a child. He is a registered violent sexual offender," said Chitwood.

Meanwhile, Sheriff Chitwood is vowing to clean up the homeless camp where the incident took place.

“I can’t have that place look like the O.K. Corral, where I have all the little thugs hanging back there and creating crimes and then running back in there," Chitwood said.

 

A man accused of threatening women in woods off North Woodland Boulevard in DeLand tried to drive away but crashed the car into trees at Division Street and Fonseca Lane in DeLand on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, Volusia County deputies said. (Eugene Buenaventura, staff)