UNION COUNTY, N.C. — The Union County Sheriff's Office said a South Carolina teen led them on a high-speed chase in a stolen car early Thursday morning, but the sheriff claims the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice dropped the ball when asked for help.
Deputies said they spotted the stolen car in the Monroe area and tried to pull the driver over, but the 14-year-old male sped off instead. The sheriff's office said the teen never stopped at several red lights and passed traffic on the wrong side of the road, nearly crashing. Eventually, deputies were able to perform a forced vehicle stop and took the teen into custody.
The teen was discovered to be from the Lancaster, South Carolina area. While the sheriff's office did ask the SCDJJ for a secure custody order, the department denied the request.
The teen was eventually returned home to his parent. Via juvenile petitions, he is now charged with felony flee to elude, felony possession of stolen motor vehicle, reckless driving, and failure to stop for a steady red light.
Sheriff Eddie Cathey lambasted the failure to get a secure custody order in a statement, saying “This unsupervised juvenile entered Union County after stealing a vehicle and put the lives of our residents at risk by fleeing from law enforcement. My deputies utilized their training and experience to end this pursuit quickly and detained this suspect without any harm to the public or damage to the vehicles being driven. I am disappointed that the Department of Juvenile Justice failed to issue a secured custody order in this case and that my deputies were unable to immediately hold this juvenile offender accountable for his actions by transporting to him a secured facility."
Cathey noted nobody was hurt during the chase and thanked deputies for their work.
WCNC Charlotte has requested a response from the SCDJJ on Cathey's statement. This article will be updated should we hear back from the department.