Elizabethtown Police arrest driver of stolen vehicle after 16-mile chase

ELIZABETHTOWN, NC (WWAY) — A person has been arrested after leading police on a chase through Bladen County.

The chase took place after officers with the Elizabethtown Police Department received a notification from the Flock Safety ALPR cameras that a stolen vehicle had entered town on East Broad Street.

When police attempted to pull the vehicle over, they say the driver failed to stop and fled at a high rate of speed in an attempt to get away. The Elizabethtown officer chased the stolen vehicle approximately 14 miles to the White Oak Community, where the vehicle struck a set of stop sticks that had been deployed by a deputy with the Bladen County Sheriff’s Department.

The vehicle traveled another 2 miles until the front right tire ran flat and the vehicle ran off the road and came to a stop. The driver then ran into the nearby woods where he was apprehended a short time later by members of the Bladen County Sheriff’s Department.

The driver, 36-year-old Thomas Javie Kinlaw, III of Fairmont was charged with Felony Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle and numerous traffic offenses. Kinlaw was also served with outstanding warrants for Felony Larceny of Motor Vehicle Parts (New Hanover County) and a Felony Probation Violation (Robeson County).

He received a $120,000 secured bond.