Lexington, SC (Paul Kirby) – Lexington Police Chief Terrence Green said Friday that overnight Thursday and into Friday morning, police officers arrested three juveniles for a series of thefts from multiple vehicles. The vehicle they were driving when they came to Lexington was also stolen.
Chief Green said at approximately 4:30 a.m., officers spotted a suspicious vehicle in the Gibson Terrace neighborhood. When they ran the vehicle’s identification number, they discovered it was reported stolen from Richland County. Lexington officers, along with deputies from the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, set up a perimeter around the area to secure it.
An officer from the Lexington’s Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) Team flew a drone over the area and quickly found the three suspects hiding nearby. They fled into the woods but two were tracked by a K-9 team and apprehended.
Police officers continued searching for the last suspect while others were taking multiple reports from residents in the Gibson Forest West and Gibson Terrace who woke to discover that items had been stolen from their unlocked vehicles. Three pistols were among the stolen things.
At approximately 8:30 a.m., the third suspect was found hiding in Gibson Terrace. He was arrested. Two of the stolen pistols were found nearby hidden under the landscaping pine straw.
A K-9 team and officers continued searching the area and found the third stolen pistol. They found a fourth pistol in another neighborhood they believe was hidden by one of the juveniles running from officers.
“We can’t stress it enough that valuables, especially guns, should not be left in unlocked cars. These stolen handguns should never have ended up in the hands of teenagers and what could have had a tragic ending with a shooting was preventable with locked car doors,” said Chief Terrence Green. “That said, these arrests highlight the importance of both our sUAS and K-9 teams as they greatly increase the ability and effectiveness of our officers work.”
All three suspects are 17 years old and and considered juveniles in South Carolina. Each was released to their parent and their cases were sent to the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office for prosecution.
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