CLAYTON — Rabun County Sheriff Chad Nichols on Tuesday released details of an early-morning theft incident that occurred Sunday at Walmart in Clayton.
The Rabun County Sheriff’s Office was notified about 6 a.m. Sunday that two men had taken several televisions from the store and loaded them into a vehicle.
“[Dispatch] gave us a vehicle description of a grey car with damage on the passenger side,” Nichols told WRBN / WGHC Radio on Tuesday. “The deputy on his way to Walmart kept his eyes open and saw them waiting to turn left onto 441 out of Walmart. I guess as he was getting closer, they turned and went north on 441. He got behind them and they wouldn’t stop so he kind of had to slow down going through all the intersections in Clayton, and the vehicle got a good distance ahead of him.”
In the area of George Eller Curve north of Clayton, the deputy saw smoke and stuff in the road, but didn’t notice anything, so he continued north before being notified by Dispatch of a wreck in the area of George Eller Curve.
“Come to find out, it was the guys that had run on him from Walmart,” Nichols said. “They had wrecked and hit the guardrail there in George Eller Curve and got headed back south.”
The car evaded the pursuing deputy, and a lookout was issued to surrounding areas for the vehicle.
“The car made it to Tallulah Falls and broke down on them, blew up on them, or something,” Nichols said. “[Officers] actually found the car there around Tallulah Falls Middle School, I think.”
Units from the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office and Tallulah Falls Police Department responded to help look for the individuals. A K-9 unit from Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto was requested to assist in the search, as well as a Georgia Department of Natural Resources helicopter.
“They came up and found one of the guys fairly quickly, but the other one didn’t turn up until like 10:15ish that night, and he was arrested,” Nichols said. “They got both the ones that were described at Walmart.”
Trevon Termarco Tolbert, 21, of Conley was arrested Sunday morning and taken to the Habersham County Detention Center.
Patrick Bailey Lee, 23, of Atlanta was arrested Sunday night and booked at the Rabun County Detention Center.
Information about charges against Lee and Tolbert were not available Tuesday. The investigation into the Clayton case and others is ongoing.
