ROCKINGHAM — Two men are facing criminal charges after a rifle was reportedly thrown out of a vehicle during a chase.
Deputies were working on Mill Road in East Rockingham around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday when they noticed a gold Lexus with a registration plate that had been reported stolen, according to a press release issued Wednesday by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
A deputy reportedly tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver allegedly refused “and a pursuit began.”
According to the sheriff’s office, the vehicle drove through several yards and streets before running into a power pole on Flowers Street. The vehicle reportedly kept going after impact, pulling around a residence on the same road where it was damaged again, “making it inoperable.”
The deputy reportedly held the four passengers until backup could arrive.
After the other deputies made it to the scene, the driver was identified as 28-year-old Michael Lavon Quick, who had an outstanding order for arrest.
One deputy backtracked the route and reportedly found a 5.56mm rifle in a gravel parking lot that was allegedly thrown out a window during the pursuit. Deputies interviewed the occupants and reportedly determined that the rifle belonged to 25-year-old Jordan Franklin Jacobs.
Quick was charged with fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle and served with the OFA for failure to appear in court on a misdemeanor. He was booked into the Richmond County Jail under a combined $25,250 secured bond.
Jacobs was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and is being held on a $15,000 secured bond.
Both are scheduled to appear in court May 19.
The other two unnamed occupants were released at the scene.
Online court records show Jacobs has several pending traffic infractions in both Richmond and Moore counties.
Records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction show Jacobs served two years and nine months behind bars following a 2016 conviction of robbery with a dangerous weapon. His parole ended in 2020.
Quick’s only prior conviction was in 2014 for driving after consuming a controlled substance under the age of 21.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
