“That person, we suspect, tried to break into a car across the street from Richey’s Body Shop and was unsuccessful,” Police Chief Greg Turley said.
He said the man then stole a Ford F-250 from Richey’s Body Shop and drove to Leeds.
“Leeds police made contact with him as an impaired driver behind Walmart,” Turley said. “The man fled in the vehicle, and Leeds officers pursued him.”
Turley said the man fled along Interstate 20, took the Brompton exit and turned on U.S. 78 westbound before wrecking the vehicle.
“He was taken into custody by the Leeds Police Department,” Turley said.
Pell City Police Capt. Ed Brasher said a St. Clair County dispatcher deserves credit for helping authorities connect the cases so quickly.
“Robbie Young, the day shift supervisor for St. Clair County dispatch, got the information about the Friday night theft and notified the day shift police supervisor Don Newton that she thought the vehicle recovered in Leeds Saturday might be the same vehicle stolen from Pell City Friday,” he said. “As it turns out — it was. It was great work on her part putting it together.”
Brasher said the man will likely face charges from Pell City and Leeds.
Contact Elsie Hodnett at ehodnett@dailyhome.com.
