Two teenagers suspected of carjacking an elderly man’s truck at gunpoint in Knoxville last week were captured in Chattanooga over the weekend, records show.
One of the suspects, 18-year-old Brandon Moates, initially escaped after leading police on a high-speed car chase across East Chattanooga on Friday night, but he was later found and arrested Sunday. The second suspect, Elijah Springs, 19, was arrested without incident Friday.
Both men are suspected of stealing a Nissan pickup truck from an elderly man in Knoxville at about 7 a.m. on Oct. 13. Knoxville police were able to pull photos of the suspects and Chattanooga investigators identified Moates and Springs as the men in those photos, Chattanooga police Sgt. Josh May said.
Both suspects are validated gang members. To validate someone as a gang member, officers use a series of factors such as tattoos, articles of clothing, social media and confessions.
On Friday, an officer spotted the stolen Nissan pickup truck and Moates at a gas station on Glenwood Drive. When the officer tried to pull Moates over, he hit the gas – speeding up Glenwood Drive to North Chamberlin Avenue, then to Dodson Avenue, North Holtzclaw and East Main Street before crashing at East Third and North Kelly streets, police said.