According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a 26-year-old suspect “made quite a ruckus” on Friday afternoon. Kyle Cole is still on the run — and the kicker is he wasn’t even the man deputies were originally looking for.

Deputies reported that at 4:40 p.m., they spotted a 2003 Chevy Avalanche at a Circle K, ran its plates, and learned the registered owner had an active warrant from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

They found Kyle Cole — not the registered owner — behind the wheel. Deputies gave Cole and an unidentified passenger “multiple commands to get out and surrender.”

The smart move would have been surrendering. Cole would have discovered the whole thing was an honest mix-up. Instead, “Cole rammed every PCSO vehicle he could, and floored it.”

He made it 6.8 miles. Then he raced along Kathleen Road, then turned onto Dove Meadow Trail. He hit a dead end at a gated private ranch. So Cole floored it again, smashing through the gate. Authorities estimate the property damage at $100,000.

How the chase turned into a manhunt

“The suspects abandoned the Avalanche and fled on foot into a wooded area.”

Police must have identified Cole later, because it took four days to issue a warrant. Cole has “an extensive criminal history” and has been to state prison twice. He is wanted on “proviso warrants” for “possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, discharging a firearm in public, and culpable negligence.”

After his latest “ruckus,” deputies added charges including aggravated battery and aggravated assault on law enforcement, fleeing to elude, felony criminal mischief, breaking a fence containing livestock, trespassing, and resisting arrest.

The sheriff’s office said Cole is 5-foot-11, 150 pounds, and is believed to be in Pinellas County. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Hipple at 863-604-7354 or contact Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-888-400-TIPS (8477) to remain anonymous.