CLARKESVILLE — A South Carolina woman is now jailed in Habersham County in connection with an incident involving the pursuit of a stolen car that ended in an officer-involved shooting in North Carolina.
Crystal Danielle Singleton, 21, of Piedmont, S.C., had been jailed in Macon County, N.C., since the incident on April 7.
She was transferred to and booked at the Habersham County Detention Center on Monday, May 1, charged with felony theft by receiving stolen property, jail records show. Bond has not been set.
The incident began after deputies attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a silver Infinity car that had been reported stolen earlier in Clarkesville. The driver fled along Washington Street, up Hollywood Highway and Old Historic Highway 441.
The vehicle then turned onto Ga. 15 (U.S. 441) and entered Rabun County, where deputies there attempted to deploy Spike Strips near Walmart in Clayton, causing at least one tire of the fleeing vehicle to deflate, Habersham County Sheriff’s Lt. Matt Wurtz said at the time.
The fleeing driver continued into Macon County, N.C., where the driver lost control and wrecked.
“Habersham County deputies were attempting to make contact with the driver, at which time shots were fired,” Wurtz said.
The driver, now identified as 24-year-old Austin Tyler Thomason of Piedmont, S.C., was struck by gunfire and was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center for treatment of his injuries. After his release, he was booked at the Habersham County Detention Center.
The passenger in the vehicle, now identified as Singleton, was taken into custody by the Macon County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.
Just days before the incident involving Habersham County deputies, Thomason allegedly rammed a stolen vehicle into a Greenville County, S.C., deputy sheriff’s car and then fled the scene. Multiple arrest warrants were issued for Thomason in Greenville County, S.C.
In Habersham County, Thomason is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, fugitive from justice, felony theft by receiving stolen property, fleeing or attempting to elude police officer, reckless driving, driving while license suspended or revoked, passing in a no-passing zone, driving on the wrong side of an undivided street, failure to maintain lane, and failure to obey stop sign, jail records show. His bond is set at $25,900.
The Habersham County deputy involved in the shooting currently remains on administrative leave pending the outcome of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation probe of the incident.
