Atlanta police officers took to land, air and sea recently to catch a suspected car thief who was determined to elude arrest.
Jetarvius Qmon “Tank” Thompson, a 20-year-old Atlanta man, led officers on a chase in a stolen car Aug. 25 that ended with police arresting him as he tried to swim across Tatum Lake, officials said.
He was charged with reckless driving, fleeing and eluding law enforcement, obstruction, theft by receiving stolen vehicle, driving while unlicensed and possession of tools for the commission of a crime.
Police on Thursday released aerial footage from the department’s Aviation helicopter, which tracked Thompson as he tried to escape officers pursuing him on the ground.
Fulton County court records show Thompson is a murder suspect in a 2017 homicide and was released from jail earlier this year. He was out on bond when he led police on the chase last week.
According to authorities, officers spotted Thompson driving a black Dodge Charger around 7:40 p.m. The car had been reported stolen from Atlanta a day prior, which sparked the chase, according to police.
Thompson managed to elude several officers near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, officials said. But the police helicopter got involved in the pursuit and followed him as he fled.
At some point, Thompson is seen on the video jumping out of the car and running into woods behind some houses. Moments later, he dove into the lake and began swimming across in an attempt to evade two officers.
“Seeing this, the officers quickly removed their duty belts and promptly jumped into the lake, and continued their pursuit of the suspect,” police said.
They were able to detain Thompson before he reached the shore on the other side.
Credit: Fulton County Clerk of the Superior Court
Credit: Fulton County Clerk of the Superior Court
In October 2017, Thompson was arrested on the murder charges. He and a Lithonia man, Freddie Lewis Walker, were indicted in May 2018.
Court documents indicate Walker pleaded to lesser charges, including voluntary manslaughter, participation in criminal street gang activity and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by five years of probation.
Thompson is still awaiting trial in that case. He was released from jail on a $680,000 pre-trial bond Feb. 26, Fulton County online records show. In a court motion, Thompson and Walker both claimed they were acting in self-defense. There no other details immediately available.
Thompson also had a warrant for a slate of charges, including cruelty to children, that resulted from a March 24 incident. According to an arrest warrant obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he led police on a high-speed chase in a stolen Chevy Camaro with a child in the car. He eventually crashed into an 18-wheeler on the I-85 South on-ramp from I-285 in Fulton County before escaping, police alleged in the warrant. Officers said they found a stolen rifle inside the car.
“This was yet another significant arrest by team APD,” police said Thursday. “The city is safer with this dangerous suspect off the streets.”
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