Deontay Staten and Anthony Stevenson, both 18, are charged with vehicle theft and evading arrest after fleeing officers today in Davidson County and traveling on I-65 North into Kentucky before bailing from a stolen 2017 Volkswagen Passat on I-65 South near the Ridgetop exit.
Using GPS information from the car, MNPD Auto Theft Detective Ben Ward located the vehicle this morning at a Charlotte Pike Burger King. Responding officers attempted to stop the car but the driver fled at a high rate of speed. With the assistance of MNPD helicopter pilot Officer Tom Spence and tactical flight officer Lieutenant Robert Durbin, the suspects were located in the Madison area. Upon seeing the helicopter, they fled onto I-65 North into Kentucky. The police helicopter continued to monitor the Volkswagen which eventually turned around and began heading back toward Nashville on I-65 South. When two Kentucky State troopers attempted to deploy spike strips on I-65 South, they were nearly struck by the fleeing suspects who stopped near Ridgetop where Stevenson was taken into custody. Staten fled on foot into a woodline but was apprehended a short time later.
The Volkswagen Passat was stolen Thursday night after it was left running and with the keys in the ignition outside a Herman Street residence. The owner reported that she ran inside a friend’s house to deliver some paperwork and when she came back outside a minute later, her car was being driven off at a high rate of speed.
Staten and Stevenson are both being held in the Metro jail on $35,000 bond each. Additional charges in Kentucky are pending.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol, MNPD Canine Unit, and West Precinct officers also greatly assisted in the teens’ apprehension.
