A 50-year-old Ivanhoe woman is in custody facing multiple felony charges following a chase through multiple counties Tuesday afternoon
That woman, Deona R. Hooper of 8151 Ivanhoe Road, is now charged with felony larceny of a motor vehicle, felony possession of a stolen vehicle, felony flee to elude arrest, assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of injury to personal property.
According to information released by Sheriff’s Lt. Marcus Smith, the incident began when Sampson deputies were called to investigate a “larceny in progess” on Seavey Road in Ivanhoe around 3 p.m. on May 28.
The caller reporting the incident, the release noted, told dispatchers at the 911 Center that an unknown white van was seen around their farm and when they approached it, the suspect exited the van and got into a white Yukon on the property and fled the scene.
In an attempt to prevent the suspect from leaving the premises, the caller tried to block the vehicle, but reports show the suspect hit the caller’s vehicle and fled onto Ivanhoe Road.
The caller followed, providing detailed information to responding officers as they tailed the suspect.
Smith said one of the responding deputies observed the suspect vehicle at the intersection of N.C. 41 and U.S. 421, but the stolen Yukon failed to yield to the deputy’s lights and sirens and continued to flee, leading officers into Duplin and then Pender counties, driving through multiple secondary roads before finally heading down U.S. 117.
Officers with the Pender County Sheriff’s Office, the Burgaw Police Department and the N.C. Highway Patrol joined the pursuit and dropped stop sticks. But the measure was unsuccessful in disabling the fleeing vehicle.
The Yukon, the release showed, continued into Burgaw, then proceeded east onto N.C. 53 where it merged east onto I-40 and headed towards Wilmington, officers still in pursuit.
Units, Smith noted in the release, tried a rolling roadblock but were unsuccessful because of traffic in the area.
The Highway Patrol deployed stop sticks at Exit 414, and the vehicle finally came to a stop at Exit 416 where Hooper was taken into custody.
Charges were leveled and she was placed in the Sampson County Detention Center under a $25,000 secured bond.
“We would like to thank the caller for their persistent updates, which clearly aided our officers in locating the stolen vehicle,” Smith said.
“Futhermore, the aid given by all agencies involved was vital in ensuring a safe recovery of the stolen vehicle and the apprehension of the suspect.”