Car chase leads to arrest of five suspected cat thieves

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    BALDWIN COUNTY, Alabama (WALA) — A police chase in south Baldwin County ended in the arrest of five individuals suspected of stealing the car they were in and several vehicle break-ins in Spanish Fort. The break-ins happened over the weekend and then Monday night, January 4, 2021 a car was stolen. Sheriff’s deputies spotted the car on Highway 59 and made the stop.

Mug shots of the suspects had not been posted Wednesday afternoon, but the three adults have been identified as Kendon Eugene Allen, Terrell Smith-Dickerson and Brandon Levon Ely, all from the Mobile area. The pursuit began at Highway 59 and County Road 32 in Summerdale and ended a short distance later.

“My understanding is that several guns were recovered, of which one of them was reported stolen,” said Spanish For Police Chief, John Barber.

Barber had already planned to begin a new community policing initiative called “Fort Knocks” Wednesday morning. He and his detectives went door to door to meet citizens in area where the break-ins happened and encourage them to lock their car doors and be watchful.

“That car that was stolen at that house was found back in Baldwin County,” Barber explained to a resident living on Fiesta Drive in Spanish Village. “We have been working pretty hard on the investigation. Yesterday, we put out information to our other agencies in Baldwin County.”

One of the homes visited happened to be where the car was stolen from and Chief Barber was able to deliver the good news that it had been recovered.

“There were five people in the vehicle. All were arrested so, right now it’s still actually happening because it was like wee hours of the morning,” Barber said.

The car owner, Liz Bush was happy to hear her car was recovered and happy to see first-hand the new community policing effort.

“It definitely gives you a sense of community and that you’re really involved and that they really care about the neighborhoods and the people that are here,” Bush said.

Video evidence was also collected from some neighbors showing the suspects breaking into cars this weekend near the Spanish Village area. Chief Barber hopes the arrests will be the break they need in the case.

“It’s going to take some time to do that but yeah. It’s our hope is that we can start clearing some of our cases, tie it back to some of ours, including other jurisdictions as well,” Barber explained.

This investigation is far from over. Police believe there could be more people involved in the break-ins and there are still two guns missing that were taken during the weekend break-ins. Only one of the guns taken of the suspects was reported stolen.

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