Six juveniles wound up in police custody on Wednesday after a high-speed pursuit in Burlington that ended when the suspects crashed a stolen vehicle into one of the police department’s SUVs issued to a K-9 police team.
This drama reportedly began at about 12:00 noon when police officers were dispatched to deal with a “disturbance” at a Citgo gas station at 1382 South Church Street.
According to the city’s police department, one of the suspects in this dustup had flourished a firearm before he and his entourage sped away from the gas station.
Although the suspects were long gone by the time officers arrived on the scene, witnesses were able to provide a description and license plate number for their vehicle, which turned out to have been reported stolen in Durham.
Some 48 minutes later, members of the city’s police force spotted this same stolen vehicle near South Mebane Street’s intersection with Catherine Drive.
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The vehicle’s driver reportedly refused to pull over when signaled by police officers, which triggered a brief pursuit that ended when the suspects careened into the K-9 police team at South Mebane Street’s intersection with Alamance Road.
According to the police department, the stolen vehicle’s occupants scattered after the crash, although five of them were quickly rounded up by the city’s police officers. Meanwhile, a K-9 police team eventually found the sixth suspect hiding behind a business along Heather Road near the crash site.
The police department notes that the six juveniles arrested in this case will ultimately face charges such as felony hit and run, fleeing to elude arrest, possession of a stolen vehicle, and resisting, obstructing, or delaying law enforcement.
According to the department, the suspects’ stolen vehicle and the K-9 police team’s SUV were both totaled in the aforementioned collision.
The officer’s dog reportedly emerged from the wreckage unscathed, while the officer received minor injuries that didn’t require hospitalization.