Gwinnett car theft suspects arrested after hourslong search

Police in Gwinnett County searched for two people after a stolen car was spotted Wednesday.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Police in Gwinnett County searched for two people after a stolen car was spotted Wednesday.

Two Norcross teenagers seen riding in a stolen car were arrested after an extensive search Wednesday afternoon in Gwinnett County, police said.

The search began near the intersection of Satellite Boulevard and Sugarloaf Parkway after police said the vehicle, which was stolen Tuesday in a violent carjacking, was spotted by a license plate-reading camera and authorities were alerted. After the suspects ran into a wooded area nearby, police announced the search at about 1:45 p.m. and advised residents to avoid the area.

Santiago Serna-Mandujano,18, was quickly arrested, and 17-year-old Timmy Le was taken into custody about 3:40 p.m., just as officers were about to break off the search, according to police spokesperson Sgt. Jennifer Richter.

Investigators are still trying to determine how they came to be in possession of the stolen vehicle, Richter said. The victim was leaving a gas station along Indian Trail Lilburn Road when he saw a man having car trouble and offered to help, according to authorities. Soon after, police said another person inside the car shot him.

The victim ran into the store and the two people stole his car, police said. Serna-Mandujano and Le are facing charges of theft by receiving but had not been connected to the shooting or carjacking as of Thursday.

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