Irmo police officer chase U-Haul deep into Richland County before taking two into custody
Irmo, SC (Paul Kirby) – A sharp-eyed Irmo police officer responding to a shoplifting call caught a glimpse of something that just didn’t seem right to him near a CVS in the town just before 4:00 a.m. Friday morning. Two people had a U-Haul moving truck and were leaving the business without their headlights on. They didn’t seem happy to see the officer at all. The IPD officer could see something in the back of the truck that gave him no indication that the pair were just taking a break from moving themselves, so he decided to introduce himself and have a look at what was really going on. As it turned out, instead of hauling their possessions to a new home, the man and woman were hauling off merchandise they had apparently stolen inside the business. The pair quickly began to exit the area of the business in the truck with the officer behind them, but when he activated his warning lights to pull them over, they refused to stop and instead initiated a pursuit.
At this point, a long chase ensued that eventually involved several other agencies. Somewhere along the way, the U-Haul led police onto I-26 east headed toward Charleston. They exited onto I-77 north at Cayce with a string of officers trailing behind. During the chase, officers and dispatchers were trying to get someone ahead of the truck with stop-sticks to flatten its tires. Eventually, the pair exited I-77, ended up on Bluff Road, and were spiked at some point. This brought the fleeing truck to a stop deep into Richland County in the 4300 block of Mellowood Drive south of Atlas Road in lower Richland County. RCSD deputies helped take the man and woman into custody bringing the whole thing to a close at about 4:49 a.m. Lexington County deputies also helped with the pursuit.
Police officer have identified the pair, and both have a long criminal history. One of the things they saw in the back of the truck was a shopping cart loaded with items. They included among other things, lots of baby diapers, and several cases of Bud Light. Officer are continuing to investigate the situation in order to decide what exactly the couple will be charged with. At 6:15 a.m. Friday, the pair are being transported to the Lexington County Detention Center for booking.
