Four Georgia children were arrested in connection with the murder of a Florida resident after a car chase last week.
According to the Kingsland Police Department, three of the teenagers arrested were wanted for murder and trespassing over a Labor Day weekend incident.
An official in Peach State shortly before 11 p.m. Friday noticed a black Honda traveling south on Interstate 95 at 96 mph. Attempts to catch the vehicle initially proved unsuccessful, police say, because the car accelerated after being tracked by law enforcement and “continued to travel at speeds greater than 120 mph and did not stop”.
After exiting the autobahn and heading east, the car full of teenagers made an “abrupt U-turn” and swung back west, according to police, to give KPD officials in the area just enough time, “spike strips on the vehicle “to attach what led to the vehicle being run over.”
After the car was finally stopped, the police and representatives from the Camden County Sheriff’s Office “contacted the people in the vehicle and everyone was arrested,” according to the KPD. Police quickly discovered that the driver of the black Honda was a 12-year-old boy and that the car was allegedly stolen. To the passengers, police said they had also taken away a 14-year-old boy, a 15-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl. None of the teenagers’ names were made public.
However, three of these suspected joyriders have also been wanted in connection with the recent murder of a man by the nickname Hallelujah who lived in Jacksonville, Florida. The driver was one of the wanted people, but the police did not clarify which of the two passengers was also accused of the violent invasion.
According to Jacksonville-based CBS subsidiary WJXT, the deceased’s family members provided home security footage showing seven boys and one girl entering the home – five of whom were armed with guns. Once inside, the point of sale reports, the group of teenagers began robbing and looting the house – eventually stealing groceries, high-priced sneakers and killing the 28-year-old man in question.
A copy of these surveillance footage has reportedly been made available to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office but has yet to be made public.
“It appears that at least two of the people in the stolen vehicle in Georgia are linked to an active investigation here in Jacksonville,” the JCSO told the outlet in a statement. “The detectives continue to work diligently to identify those who may have played a role in the crime. As a result, we are currently unable to provide any further details of the investigation – this would hamper further investigative efforts, arrests and / or prosecutions. “
The video of the fast-paced chase on Monday night, on the other hand, was quickly made available by law enforcement agencies in the Sunshine State:
After a little more than seven minutes, the dashcam video shows the moment when the officer first reacted to the speeding vehicle. What follows is a largely uneventful chase along the streets and highways – interrupted about halfway by the aforementioned U-turn, which is announced by the car’s left turn signal. The chase ends with the car rolling next to the shoulder to a stop while the patrol car pulls up.
The 12-year-old driver has been charged with theft by bringing stolen property into the state, driving too fast, driving recklessly, escaping and trying to evade law enforcement, and being a fugitive from justice. Every other teenager in the car has been charged with stealing stolen property and escaping justice.
All four minors are currently being held in the regional juvenile detention center in Georgia.
[image via Kingsland Police Department]
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