Police say a Florida store owner ran down a 14-year-old burglary suspect with his car and left him injured before calling in the break-in

A break-in at a small business in Florida’s Brevard County has led to serious charges against the owner instead of only the suspected burglar. Police say Kavan Vishnubhai Patel, 32, intentionally struck a 14-year-old boy with his vehicle after the teen was suspected of breaking into The Corner Store in West Melbourne, according to WFTV.

Officers were dispatched around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to a reported burglary in progress at the store at 1100 S. Wickham Road, the West Melbourne Police Department said. Patel told police he received an alert from his alarm company and saw on security footage that the store’s front glass door had been broken. He said he saw a male in a light-colored hoodie leave on an electric bicycle.

Officers later found a boy matching that description on the side of the road, according to police. The 14-year-old appeared to have been struck by a vehicle and was taken to a hospital in critical condition. His name has not been released, as he is a minor, and police have not said whether he faces charges in connection with the break-in.

Police say the store owner kept his role quiet until detectives confronted him

Detectives determined that Patel intentionally hit the teen with his vehicle, left the scene, and returned to his store, police said. According to investigators, the store owner did not tell the officers who responded to the burglary call that he had been involved. He reportedly disclosed his role only after detectives confronted him with what they had found.

Patel acknowledged to police that he “should have contacted law enforcement” instead of striking the boy, according to investigators. He also told them he “was angry at the time of the incident.” The 32-year-old has been charged with aggravated battery and leaving the scene of a crash involving great bodily injury, and he is being held without bond.

Responding officers initially handled the call as a straightforward burglary, as the owner had reported a broken door and a suspect fleeing on an e-bike. The case changed once investigators connected the injured teen on the roadside to Patel’s vehicle. Police have not said how detectives made that connection or how far from the store the boy was found.

The arrest flips the usual outcome of a store break-in, in which the business owner is typically the one reporting a crime. In this case, police say Patel went after the teen himself instead of waiting for officers to respond, a decision he later told investigators he should not have made.

Patel is not the first person accused of turning a vehicle on someone in a moment of anger, as seen in the case of a Texas dad who ran over his child’s mother. However, in West Melbourne, police say the person struck was a 14-year-old the store owner believed had just broken into his business.

Aggravated battery is a second-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Patel has not been convicted and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. However, no court date has been made public, and the teen’s current condition has not been updated since he was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

The teen’s recovery and any charges tied to the break-in could shape how the case moves forward, and more details may come out once Patel appears before a judge on the charges.