Four people- including at least two teens- are in custody after police say they tried to carjack a woman in one Jefferson County city, and then stole a running car at a gas pump in another city.
It all began about 11:15 a.m. Friday when, Fultondale Police Chief D.P. Smith said, a woman was driving north on U.S. 31. A vehicle pulled in front of her and tried to block her. One of the men inside the vehicle got out with a gun and started running back toward her car. She drove around him, Smith said, and was able to get out of harm's way.
The suspects then went to the Shell gas station on Fieldstown Road just off of Interstate 65 where a woman fueling her white 2000 Chevrolet Suburban. One of the suspects, said Gardendale Police Chief Mike Walker, jumped into the running vehicle and took off with the gas nozzle still attached to the SUV.
A bystander saw what was going on and jumped onto the hood of the Suburban to try to stop the fleeing suspects. The suspects continued to drive off, and the bystander rolled off the hood. Walker said he was banged up but not seriously injured.
Two of the suspects, ages 17 and 18, were caught when a Gardendale detective spotted the suspects' vehicle on Fieldstown Road at Shady Grove Road. Walker said lawmen set up a perimeter and ended up finding the two young men in a cornfield just north of Fieldstown Road. They are believed to be from the Bessemer area.
Multiple law enforcement agencies were searching for the stolen Suburban. Bessemer police Sgt. Cortice Miles said Bessemer officers spotted the stolen SUV in that city about 2:20 p.m. and chased the suspects into Birmingham where they crashed and flipped near Lawson State Community College. Two suspects fled on foot but were captured. There were no injuries.
Authorities said one of the suspects was out on bond from a previous charge of committing the same crime.
The suspects names are being withheld pending formal charges.
If you have information on these cases, please call Gardendale Police Department at 205-631-8787 or Fultondale Police Department at 205-849-5456.