ASHEVILLE, N.C. (FOX Carolina) – Drone technology helped officers find and arrest three people in a stolen vehicle, Asheville Police said.
Just before 11:30 p.m. on March 20, officers found a stolen vehicle on Short Coxe Avenue, police said.
While trying to make contact with the occupants of the vehicle, police said the vehicle sped away, hitting a parked car in the process.
Shortly after, police said that officers found the vehicle abandoned in a grassy field on Bartlett Street. The three occupants were running into a nearby wooded area.
Officers were able to quickly deploy a drone, which led to them finding two of the suspects. The third suspect was later found and apprehended in the nearby area, according to police.
Police identified the suspects as 19-year-old Nathaniel Joshua Brown, 27-year-old Anthony Trent Jones and 19-year-old Canibus Malik Sawyer.
Police say Brown has been charged with:
- Felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle
- Felony flee to elude arrest with a motor vehicle
- Resisting a public officer
- Failure to maintain lane control.
He is being held at the Buncombe County Detention Center on a $15,000 secured bond issued by a magistrate, according to police.
Police say Jones has been charged with:
- Felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle
- Resisting a public officer
He is being held at the Buncombe County Detention Center on a $5,000 secured bond issued by a magistrate judge, according to police.
Police say Sawyer has been charged with:
- Felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle
- Resisting a public officer
- Misdemeanor larceny
- Attempted purchase of a malt beverage or unfortified wine by a person under 19 or 20 years old
- Possession of a malt beverage or unfortified wine by a person under 19 or 20 years old
He is being held at the Buncombe County Detention Facility under a $11,000 secured bond issued by a magistrate judge, according to police.
Anyone with information on this incident or other illegal activity is asked to contact Asheville Police at (828) 252-1110. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the TIP2APD smartphone application (search “Asheville PD” in your app store) or by texting TIP2APD to 847411.
|RELATED COVERAGE: Greenville County Sheriff’s Office shares details about drone program|
Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with FOX Carolina. For more free content like this, download our apps.