A Gwinnett County carjacking suspect picked the wrong people to mess with when he allegedly stole a man’s pickup truck but the owner went along for the ride, and when he tried to hide in a house only to be taken into custody at gunpoint by its resident.
The incident began about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at a house in the 700 block of Sunset Ridge Lane in unincorporated Lawrenceville, according to a Gwinnett County police news release.
House painter Robin Watkins told investigators he had been working at the Sunset Ridge address for the last two days and was behind the home when he heard his vehicle – a black 1985 Chevrolet pick-up – starting up in the driveway.
The 46-year-old Watkins ran to the front and saw a man, who police identified as Albert Lee Hughes Jr., sitting in the driver’s seat.
Hughes, 39, started backing up but the truck stalled, and Watkins jumped into the bed of the vehicle, police said. The suspect restarted the truck and drove off with the owner aboard.
“According to Watkins and witnesses, Hughes drove erratically, swerving and hitting curbs,” Gwinnett police spokesman Cpl. Jake Smith said. “Watkins felt that Hughes was trying to dislodge him from the bed of the truck.”
“When the truck pulled over, Watkins jumped out,” Smith said. “Hughes abandoned the vehicle a short distance away and fled on foot.”
Officers assisted by a Gwinnett police helicopter and K-9 units from Lawrenceville, Norcross and the Gwinnett Sheriff’s Office converged on the area.
About 5:45 p.m., Russell Gray was coming home from work when he noticed the commotion in the neighborhood.
Told police were looking for a crime suspect, Gray, 55, went to his residence in the 500 block of Savannah Rose Way, took up his handgun, searched the home and found Hughes hiding in the basement, police said. Gray ordered the man outside and handed him over to police.
Hughes, who lives across the street from where the truck was stolen, is in custody at the Gwinnett County Detention Center, charged with robbery and aggravated assault. He also will be charged with criminal trespass for entering Gray’s home, police said.
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