Melbourne man charged with shooting into a vehicle, high-speed beachside motorcycle chase

Rick Neale
Florida Today

A Melbourne man is accused of shooting bullets into a vehicle, leading law enforcement on a high-speed beachside motorcycle chase, and grabbing a police K-9 by the neck, an arrest affidavit shows.

Philip Spurlock, 23, faces two charges of shooting into an occupied motor vehicle, reckless driving, resisting an officer without violence, and injuring or killing a police dog or horse.

He was released from the Brevard County Jail Complex on $21,000 bond, and he will be arraigned May 21 at the Moore Justice Center in Viera.

Philip Spurlock.

Wednesday night, Melbourne police responded to a report of shots fired on Buick Avenue. This street lies in the Ixora Park neighborhood, between Sarno Road and Orlando Melbourne International Airport property.

Spurlock accelerated out of the area on a 2006 Suzuki motorcycle at a high rate of speed, the affidavit states. He topped 80 mph in a 35 mph zone, crossed over solid double yellow lines, and drove against the flow of traffic.

The Brevard County Sheriff's Office helicopter joined the pursuit and followed Spurlock as he sped north up State Road A1A through Satellite Beach.

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"Almost to Scorpion (Court) now. I had him on radar at 96. There's no way I'm going to be able to keep up with him," an officer in the helicopter said during the chase at 11:35 p.m., video footage shows.

Spurlock returned to Melbourne via the Eau Gallie Causeway and drove into a Lillian Drive yard in the Leewood Forest neighborhood, just west of Eau Gallie High. Helicopter footage shows him running through nearby yards and hiding behind an air conditioning unit on nearby Dordon Drive.

Police officers converged on the house, and K-9 Brutus helped apprehend Spurlock. He was transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center for medical treatment for a bite from Brutus.

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Neale is the South Brevard watchdog reporter at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Neale at 321-242-3638

or rneale@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @RickNeale1Support local journalism:  Subscribe to FLORIDA TODAY at floridatoday.com/subscribe.