Gwinnett County police recently used their aviation unit to track a suspect in a stolen vehicle “safely and unobstructed” to a school, where he was arrested.
Shiheen Junnelle Russell, 18, of Duluth, faces several charges, including two counts of kidnapping, four counts of theft by receiving stolen property and fleeing or attempting to elude police.
The vehicle was spotted by license plate-reader cameras near Peachtree Parkway and Spalding Drive in Peachtree Corners around 3:30 p.m. Friday, authorities said.
Officers tried to stop the vehicle, but Russell, who was allegedly driving, accelerated and began making evasive maneuvers in traffic, police said. While video from the aviation unit initially shows the vehicle moving with the flow of traffic, it then improperly passes other vehicles by crossing over double yellow lines into the opposite lanes of travel.
Law enforcement experts warn that a high-speed pursuit amid heavy traffic is often riskier than apprehending a suspect by other means.
Police continued tracking the vehicle from the air while relaying its location to officers on the ground until the driver pulled into the back of a school, which was not named. Three people got out of the car, two of whom willingly met with responding officers, authorities said. Investigators determined they had not participated in any crimes and were released.
Russell was subsequently located and arrested. The kidnapping charges stem from the two occupants who were not involved, officials said.
No other details have been released by police.
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