CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two men are in custody after a pair of vehicle chases that began in Charlotte and ended in Lincoln County Thursday. One of the chases involved a stolen Amazon delivery truck.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said officers were notified about a stolen Ford F-250 in the area around 11 a.m. The pickup truck was found along Sam Wilson Road near West Pointe Drive in the western part of the city. The driver didn't respond to an attempted traffic stop and sped off.
Police continued to chase the pickup and used a helicopter to help track it down. Two men, identified as 26-year-old Michael Watts and 28-year-old Devin Mitchell, jumped out of the Ford and ran off on Pressley Road, near Revolution Park Drive in south Charlotte.
Watts, noted as the passenger by police, was found shortly after in a nearby dumpster and taken into custody. CMPD said a K-9 unit, the Westover Division's Crime Reduction Unit and good Samaritans helped.
However, Mitchell found an empty Amazon delivery truck left running while the employee made deliveries. He sped off in it and CMPD's helicopter followed him into Lincoln County. Mitchell again jumped from the vehicle and ran off, but was quickly located and arrested without further incident.
CMPD said the arrests involved collaboration with Gaston County Police, which told WCNC Charlotte it took Mitchell into custody. Mitchell was taken to CaroMont Regional Hospital for treatment as CMPD works to obtain charges against him.