Three juveniles are in the Claxton Youth Detention Center after they were involved in a spree of entering autos, according to authorities.
Effingham County sheriff’s investigators have charged the three with 15 counts each of entering a motor vehicle and one count each of burglary after a spree that started Friday night and lasted into early Saturday morning in southern Effingham County.
Deputies responded to the Goshen Hills apartments around 4:15 a.m. Saturday on a report of shots being fired. Upon their arrival, deputies saw an individual had one of the suspects subdued after he witnessed the suspect fire several shots in the air using a stolen firearm.
Deputies also discovered that two other suspects ran from the area on foot. Deputies found several items that had been stolen from vehicles in area neighborhoods, including a firearm, iPods and purses.
Two other juvenile suspects were arrested hours later by deputies after a manhunt. A deputy came across one of the juveniles near a woodline, and the juvenile began to fight with the deputy. Soon, the other fugitive juvenile joined in.
“The second suspect came up and it was two on one,” ECSO spokesman Detective David Ehsanipoor said.
The deputy disengaged and used his taser to subdue one of the suspects and the other one fled. The final juvenile was apprehended around 9 a.m. Saturday.
Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie thanked Savannah Metro K9, Georgia State Patrol, Rincon Police, Port Wentworth Police and Springfield Police for assisting in the search.
The ages of the juveniles, all from Bryan County, range from 14 to 16 years of age. Charges include multiple counts of entering autos, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer. All three were believed to be staying with a friend in the neighborhood.
Ehsanipoor said it appears the three juveniles were going from car to car, checking to see if the doors were locked.
Investigators are canvassing areas at this time for any additional stolen property and victims. Anyone who discovers items missing from their vehicle in the Goshen Road area is asked to contact the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office.
The ECSO encourages people to keep their car doors locked and not leave their valuables in plain view.
