HAMLET – Editor’s note: Although a full report is not yet available, the following information was provided by Hamlet Police Department personnel in regard to a high-speed chase in southern Richmond County on Friday. A full review will be forthcoming as details are made available to the media.
Local law enforcement organizations quickly converged and coordinated beautifully during a high-speed chase event midday Friday.
Astute observation on the part of a Hamlet police officer precipitated pursuit and subsequent arrest of four suspects in what turned out to be a stolen vehicle.
Speeding through a residential section of North Hamlet on Pine Street at 11:48 a.m., the driver of a blue Cadillac refused to yield to the officer’s attempted traffic stop. Turning onto 177 South, the vehicle continued to travel at high speed before turning west onto Osborne Road in an attempt to elude capture.
At this point, fellow officers from the Hamlet Police Department were also in pursuit, joined by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department, Rockingham Police Department, and the North Carolina Highway Patrol, all of whom had immediately responded to the Hamlet officer’s initial call for assistance.
Exceeding a speed of 100 mph at points, the driver of the Cadillac panicked and ran into a gated fence on private property near Ellerbe Grove Road, effectively ending any chance of escape. Although the four occupants of the vehicle exited and ran, they were quickly located and arrested when no less than three K-9 units were called in from HPD, RPD, and the RCSD.
Subsequent to the issuance of a “Reverse 911” by the officers, it was reported that even a private citizen was instrumental in the apprehension of two of the suspects.
Such a unified show of force resulted in a quick and efficient ending to the episode, with all four of the suspects being in custody within an hour of being first detected by the Hamlet officer.
At the height of the pursuit, no less 20 officers and their vehicles from the four agencies were all fully functioning in a coordinated unison, focused on the quick and efficient apprehension of the suspects. Citizens of the Osborne Road area were understandably alarmed and concerned during the hour following 11:48 a.m.
As it appeared at one point that the fleeing vehicle might attempt to cross into South Carolina, even the Marlboro (SC) Sheriff’s Department offered assistance.
Four males aged 16 – 18 were apprehended and charged accordingly before being processed into the Richmond County Jail.
