HAMLET— Two men are facing theft charges following a chase with police late Wednesday night.
Sgt. Robert Carlisle was patrolling the area around Rollins Avenue when he saw a Nissan Altima on the side of the road, according to a police report. When he got closer, the car pulled out and turned right onto N.C. 177— with the left rear door still open.
The report notes that Carlisle could see something lodged in the door, but couldn’t tell what it was.
He caught up with the Altima near Oak Street and turned on his lights to make a traffic stop. Instead of pulling over, the driver allegedly accelerated to between 75 and 80 mph.
Carlisle reportedly radioed in the tag number and said the car wasn’t stopping.
Once they reached the U.S. 74 bypass, the driver attempted to turn onto the westbound exit but was going too fast, ran off the road and down the embankment, hitting several trees before coming to a stop about 100 feet from the road, according to the report.
When Carlisle got out of his patrol car and started making his way to the altima, the driver, 56-year-old Kenneth Dale McDonald, allegedly climbed out of the passenger-side window and took off running, leading the officer on a short foot chase.
Carlisle chased him about 100 yards through the wooded area and caught him near the fence by the bypass, according to the report. The suspect was cuffed and walked back up to the patrol car and was turned over to another officer who arrived on the scene.
Carlisle walked back to find his radio, which had fallen off his belt during the chase, and found 25-year-old Nicholas Kyle McDonald in the back seat, according to the report.
Capt. Randy Dover said there something else in the back seat — a stolen generator.
Carlisle took the younger McDonald into custody, walked him to the other officer, then went back again to find his radio.
Kenneth McDonald was charged by the N.C. Highway Patrol for having no operator’s license, reckless driving, failure to maintain lane control and failure to wear a seat belt. The Hamlet Police Department charged him with misdemeanor larceny, resisting a public officer, fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle and failing to heed a light or siren.
He was booked into the Richmond County Jail under a $5,000 secured bond.
Nicholas McDonald was also charged with misdemeanor larceny as well as failure to wear a seat belt in the front and given a $1,000 secured bond.
Both are scheduled to appear in court Nov. 11.
According to records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction, Kenneth McDonald has a history of larceny, breaking and entering and forgery, with multiple convictions dating back to 1979 in Richmond, Scotland, Moore and Robeson counties.
Records show he has spent 32 of the past 40 years behind bars and was last released in February of 2017.
Nicholas McDonald has no prior convictions in North Carolina.
All suspects facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until convicted in a court of law.
