DANVILLE, Va. – Two North Carolina men are behind bars in Danville after a shoplifting incident turned into a getaway vehicle chase Friday afternoon.
At about 2 p.m., the Danville Police Department responded to the Walmart Supercenter located at 515 Mount Cross Road for reports of a shoplifting incident.
Recommended Videos
Police said when they arrived at the scene, Officer S.C. Parker approached the two male suspects near the store exit; however, the two did not comply with the officer’s request. The incident continued into the parking lot where police said they tried to apprehend the suspects.
One of the suspects, 24-year-old Parker Barron Wright, of Ruffin, North Carolina, violently resisted arrest, leading him to assault Officer Parker, according to police.
Authorities said Wright was able to get into a “getaway vehicle” where he was joined with the second suspect, 21-year-old Billings Carpenter Miner, of Semora, North Carolina, who was driving.
Officer Parker tried to chase after them, but police said the vehicle was driving “in a manner as if to hit the officer.” The officer was not hit by the vehicle. However, the “getaway vehicle” was hit by another vehicle in the parking lot, but Miner continued to drive without stopping.
Authorities said Officer Parker sustained minor “bleeding injuries to his face” and was treated at the scene by a citizen who police learned is a nurse. A Walmart loss prevention officer who was also injured at the scene was transported for medical care.
Miner traveled south on Mount Cross Road. At the intersection of Piedmont Drive and Executive Drive, they hit another vehicle and were stalled.
Other Danville officers who saw the crash chased after the suspects who got out of the car to run away. They were soon apprehended by police and were taken into custody.
Police said the driver of the vehicle that was hit by the “getaway vehicle” was transported to the hospital for medical treatment for injuries.
Miner was charged with:
- Felony eluding law enforcement
- Misdemeanor of hit and run
- Felony hit and run
- Felony assault and battery on a police officer
- Shoplifting
Wright was charged with:
- Felony assault and battery on a police officer
- Obstruction of justice
- Shoplifting
- Disorderly conduct
- Warrant he had against him for fraud-obtaining money by false pretenses
Both men are being held without bond.