A pursuit of two vehicles that started in Forsyth County ended in Alpharetta on Friday morning when both crashed near Ga. 400, authorities said.
One of the vehicles was stopped when a Forsyth County deputy positioned his patrol car to disable it, commonly known as a PIT maneuver, and two people were taken into custody. The other car wrecked on the side of the highway near Windward Parkway after deputies threw out a spike strip, and three people were later apprehended at an Alpharetta apartment complex, according to Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman.
The suspects range in age from 13 to 18 years old. Two are jailed in Forsyth County, two are in a juvenile detention center and one is being treated for a K-9 bite.
The chase kicked off just before 2 a.m. at the Forsyth-Cherokee county line, Cherokee County sheriff’s spokesman Capt. Jay Baker said. After receiving some information from their Forsyth counterparts, Cherokee deputies spotted the two vehicles suspected in an overnight car break-in and engaged in a pursuit.
The deputies were assigned to a special detail to combat thefts from vehicles, which Baker said have plagued the northern suburbs in recent weeks.
“We have been having an issue with what appears to be suspects coming into suburban areas and going car-to-car and stealing items,” he said.
Firearms have been taken in some of the thefts, and vehicles are stolen in others.
“This isn’t your teenage kids that live in the neighborhood going through stealing CDs and phone chargers,” he said. “This seems to be more organized.”
It is not clear if the suspects pursued into Alpharetta on Friday morning have been linked to multiple thefts. The two charged as adults were identified as Jobari Darnell Wise, 17, of Forest Park, and Christopher Alexander Avery, 18, of Atlanta.
Credit: Forsyth County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Forsyth County Sheriff's Office
Wise faces charges of fleeing police, driving without a valid driver’s license and a host of traffic-related charges. Avery faces a charge of theft by taking. Both teens were denied bond and have holds from other jurisdictions.
Authorities were at the crash scene near Windward Parkway collecting evidence from a silver Audi sedan Friday morning. Several purses and a commercial leaf blower were recovered from the car.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
The police activity caused hours of backups along Ga. 400 South leaving Forsyth County during the peak morning rush, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. Authorities cleared the scene around 9 a.m., and traffic has since recovered through Forsyth and north Fulton counties.
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