CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The general manager and staff at Kiplin Auto, an independent dealership in Charlotte, N.C., helped a customer and the police track down a carjacked vehicle Monday, leading to the arrest of an armed suspect, WSOC TV reports.
The Chevrolet Malibu belonging to an unnamed female customer was stolen at gunpoint from a Charlotte gas station late Sunday night. Neither the driver nor her passenger were injured. Kiplin GM James “Kip” Charles said he saw the story on the morning news before heading into work, then got the call from the customer.
“She said she’d been carjacked, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s what I saw this morning on the news,’” Charles said.
The vehicle was equipped with a GPS tracker. Dealership staff quickly determined the vehicle was in Columbia, S.C., 92 miles away. Charles called police in Charlotte, then Columbia, where the 17-year-old suspect was spotted and arrested after a brief pursuit. The chase ended when he crashed into a brick mailbox, seriously damaging the vehicle.
“The officers asked how to describe the car and we told them, ‘Just look for the Kiplin sticker,’” Charles said.
To read the WSOC TV story, click here.
