Nov. 30—Three teens suspected in drive-by shootings in Lawrence County were arrested Thursday evening after allegedly stealing a car in Decatur and leading authorities on a high-speed chase that ended in a crash with another vehicle.
“They’re going well over 100 miles per hour,” a pursuit unit radioed as the allegedly stolen 2011 Cadillac SRX crossover headed east on Alabama 24 just before 11 p.m., according to radio traffic that captured part of the chase captured.
Officers with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office spotted the Cadillac around 10:35 p.m. on Alabama 24, near Lawrence County Road 319, shortly after Decatur police conducted a lookout for the vehicle believed to be heading toward Moulton, according to Deputy Chief Brian Covington.
The occupants of the Cadillac, who were between 13 and 17 years old, were involved in a drive-by shooting that struck another vehicle in the 24,000 block of Lawrence County Road 460 on Nov. 17 around 9 p.m., Covington said.
Covington said the teens also shot at a house in the same area two days later, around 8:30 p.m. The teens then shot at a witness who followed their vehicle into Trinity, according to Covington, before the witness left the tail end.
Decatur police said they responded to a reported car theft at a business in the 600 block of Fifth Avenue around 10:05 p.m. Thursday.
The owner of the Cadillac, Stephen Hampton, said he drove to Fifth Avenue Food Mart with his cousin and left his car running.
“I went in to get some snacks,” he said. “We came back and it was gone.”
Hampton said he took his key fob to the store. The vehicle has a keyless entry system and the push-to-start engine turns on when the vehicle recognizes the presence of the key fob, the manufacturer said. If the engine is already on, the vehicle can be operated until the engine is turned off, regardless of whether the remote control is present or not.
Hampton said he saw two teenagers as he parked and assumed they were leaving the store. After discovering his vehicle was missing, he returned to the store to ask to see the security video and then reported the apparent theft to Decatur police.
Around 10:45 p.m., a Decatur police officer told the dispatch, “According to one of my friends in Lawrence County – he just texted me – 10-40 (code for stolen vehicle) is heading eastbound on 24 in East Lawrence. , come back.”
According to scanner traffic, at least two other Decatur units also responded to the pursuit and discussed deploying spike strips.
One unit reported traveling 120 mph on Gordon Terry Parkway, according to scanner traffic.
“It’ll take me a second to catch up,” he said.
Hampton’s girlfriend, Travia Garth, said she was home in the 200 block of Sixth Avenue Northwest — a narrow residential street — when the Cadillac flew past her house with four to six police cruisers in pursuit. Scanner traffic confirmed the pursuit route.
“We’re heading north from West Moulton on Sixth Avenue,” an officer radioed. ‘There’s no traffic. Lawrence County is still primary. I blew the stop sign at Second Street, the speed is around 60 northbound.”
According to scanner traffic, the pursuit eventually returned eastbound to West Moulton.
“We’re eastbound, got the lights on at West Moulton and 12th,” one unit radioed. “There is little to no traffic; we continue east on West Moulton.
‘We cross the railway. The speed is around 65. There is no traffic. Lawrence County is still in the lead.”
Shortly later, as the pursuit approached Sixth Avenue Northeast, an officer reported “10-50, 10-50 rollover!” to send. The code means ‘accident’.
According to the scanner traffic, the Cadillac struck a Dodge Journey. An image of the crash scene shared on social media showed one of two white crossovers resting on its roof in the street.
A Decatur Police spokeswoman said the stolen vehicle struck another vehicle at Sixth Avenue and East Moulton Street. She said three occupants of the struck vehicle were transported to Decatur Morgan Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The teens in the stolen vehicle fled the scene on foot before being quickly apprehended, police said. Investigators determined that two of the teens stole the Cadillac and charged them with first-degree theft of property.
The third teen and driver of the Cadillac during the chase was charged with first-degree receiving stolen property and attempting to elude, according to police.
“The Morgan County Juvenile Rebation Office was contacted regarding the arrests and the juveniles were released to their parents/guardians,” Decatur police said.
Covington said the teens “were taken into custody for their involvement in the drive-by shootings, the stolen vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in bodily harm.”
Hampton, who had already examined the damage to his vehicle late Friday morning, said it appeared the Cadillac had “T-boned” the Dodge. He said he bought the car two months ago.
“It adds up,” he said. “It’s torn up, man.”
– david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.