KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Ashanti Earp, who detectives identified as the suspect of a police chase after he wielded an AK-47 in Key Biscayne, was on probation over a Miami Gardens weapon charge, court records show.
The probation was for eight months, and Earp, 31, had served 17 days on Friday when he allegedly pulled an assault rifle out of a guitar case to threaten his ex-girlfriend’s father while he was working at Pita Pockets, a restaurant along Crandon Boulevard.
The probation stems from a Miami Gardens Police Department arrest on Feb. 2, and the court order required participation in The Advocate Program, a nonprofit organization that relies on public-private partnerships to provide services such as mental health evaluations.
Miami-Dade court records show Miami Gardens police officers arrested Earp for child neglect, possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and openly carrying a weapon.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Javier A. Enriquez presided over Earp’s Feb. 2 case, and he transferred the weapon charge on May 3 to close the case. Prosecutors dropped the other three charges on May 5.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Marcus Bach Armas presided over the weapon charge, a misdemeanor. After several hearings, Armas ordered the six-month probation on Aug. 8.
On Friday afternoon, Miami police officers arrested Earp near the Dolphin Expressway after he fled Key Biscayne in a BMW sports utility vehicle, sideswiped a Key Biscayne police patrol car on U.S.-1 in Miami, and crashed into a car in Little Havana.
Earp was at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Saturday facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding police, and resisting an officer without violence.
Earp’s record in Miami-Dade also included arrests in 2011, 2012, and 2017. Prosecutors dropped the cases.
Miami police officers arrested him in 2017 for burglary, possession of burglary tools, and criminal mischief, records show.
In 2012, Miami police officers arrested him for resisting an officer without violence and marijuana possession. In 2011, Miami-Dade police officers arrested him for marijuana possession.
Detectives were asking anyone with information about the case to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
Watch SKY 10 aerial video of the chase (About 34 minutes)
Watch the Friday afternoon report (About 3 minutes)
Watch the Friday evening report (About 2 minutes)
Watch the Friday night report (About 2 minutes)