Gaston County police pursuit, carjacking, ends in three arrests

Three people were arrested Thursday evening after allegedly leading police on a pursuit that passed through several Gaston County cities and ended when officers foiled a carjacking at a Dallas apartment complex, according to the Gaston County Police Department.

Jaquis Rahmad Smith, 23; Bryan Quiterio, 19; and Madison Deon Jones, 20, were arrested following the chase that began in Lowell and ended in Dallas.

According to the news release, the pursuit down Interstate 85 and onto U.S. 321 began when police officers in Lowell spotted a car that had been reported stolen from an Enterprise Rent-A-Car dealership in Charlotte last month.

Gaston County police, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s helicopter and officers with the Dallas Police Department joined the pursuit, the release said.

After the occupants jumped out of the vehicle following a crash near the intersection of U.S. 321 and N.C. 275., Quiterio was arrested in a nearby Ingles parking lot.

Police alleged Smith and Jones ran across U.S. 321 to the Captain's Quarters apartments and reportedly forced an elderly woman to drive them away from the scene, the release said.

Officers were able to stop the car and arrest the pair minutes later.

The driver was unharmed, the release said.

Smith was wanted on six warrants from both Mecklenburg and Gaston counties, and now faces multiple felony charges, including kidnapping, the release said.

Quiterio and Jones are being charged with misdemeanor resisting a public officer.

Gastonia, Dallas, Lowell and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police departments are all pursuing charges on the case, the release said.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gaston County police pursuit, carjacking, ends in three arrests