Brazen thieves stole a Richmond County Sheriff’s Office vehicle Wednesday morning from a gas station at Deans Bridge Road and Meadowbrook Drive, according to a press release.
The unmarked 2014 Chevrolet Impala was later recovered in Columbia, S.C., and tied to two teen suspects and a series of brazen car thefts and auto break-ins in the region.
The stolen Impala is equipped with blue lights and other emergency equipment and had no weapons or other equipment in the vehicle at the time of the theft, authorities said. The suspects were seen exiting a dark, newer-model Lexus ES 350 with a SC tag UPA 715 and entering the Chevrolet Impala. The Lexus was reported stolen through South Carolina.
Columbia County authorities issued a Wanted bulletin on Wednesday afternoon for suspects Aaron Edmonds, 18, and Jacobi Jones, 17. The poster says the teens are connected to the Impala theft as well as eight stolen vehicles and 38 entering autos from Columbia County in the last few months.
The suspects typically arrive in one vehicle with four or more occupants, search for a vehicle to steal and then leave together in both vehicles.
“They have been seen arriving in multiple vehicles at various gas stations during early morning hours,” the poster says. “Associates of these subjects have confirmed they will use violence against law enforcement or any other persons attempting to prevent their escape.”
Anyone who sees them should consider them armed and dangerous and call 911 immediately with descriptions of the subjects and their vehicles.
