The 18-year-old man facing charges after a Wednesday car chase ended in Durham was granted bond.
Zakaree Johnson, 18, of Durham, was granted a $50,000 bond, but he will have to wear an ankle monitor.
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Prosecutors said police first tried to pull over the car that Johnson was driving after getting a report of a stolen vehicle.
Around 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, authorities identified the stolen car near Louis Stephens Drive and Morrisville Parkway in Cary.
Johnson did not stop when they tried to pull him over, and instead he led law enforcement along Interstate 40, I-885, NC-147 and the streets in Durham at speeds of up to 100 mph, prosecutors said.
Johnson is charged with:
- Felony fleeing or alluding arrest with a motor vehicle
- Felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle
- Misdemeanor hit-and-run while leaving the scene with property damage
- Misdemeanor reckless driving to endanger
- Misdemeanor resisting a public officer
- Misdemeanor operating without a license
- Misdemeanor possession of stolen goods or property
Court documents show Johnson is accused of stealing a 2017 Kia Sorento. The documents state Johnson crashed the car at East Trinity Avenue and Avondale Drive in Durham.
“Having the pursuit [can be] a bigger danger than letting it go,” said Wake County Sheriff’s Office Field Services Chief Tony Godwin. “And sometimes, people’s driving is such that we really got to get this person stopped because allowing them to continue on is a bigger threat than the danger and having a pursuit.”
Sky 5 footage showed two people emerging from a black SUV in north Durham. At least one man was seen running through a parking lot and into the woods near Sudbury Road, off Danube Lane.
The sheriff’s office said Wake County deputies found arrested Johnson near Ben Franklin Boulevard. Deputies also found a juvenile passenger who they said ran a short distance before stopping.
Johnson is also charged with felony fleeing or alluding arrest with a motor vehicle for allegedly driving away from Apex officers on North Carolina Highway 55 near Hunter Street.
“We wish we were to a place where we didn’t have them and it wasn’t necessary, but as long as people continue to violate the law and break the law and put people in danger, we have a responsibility to put a stop to that before somebody gets hurt,” Godwin said.
Johnson is due in court again on Feb. 5.
Three chases on Wednesday in the Triangle
On Wednesday, the Triangle had two other high-speed chases.
Authorities are still looking for a man involved in a chase and crash along U.S. 70. A car crashed in a ditch near Sherron Road in Durham.
Authorities arrested another man after a chase in Knightdale.
Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association Eddie Caldwell said the decision to pursue relies on several factors including weather, traffic, and offenses committed.
"For example, you've got a felony stolen vehicle that is a much more serious offense," he said in a phone interview with WRAL. "That balancing goes from the minute the blue lights go on until the pursuit ends and it changes dramatically."