After their shifts had ended, two off-duty Gwinnett County police officers arrested two suspected felons in separate incidents this week.

In the first incident, an officer working a second job initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle, then chased the driver, accused in a carjacking at a hotel near Pleasant Hill Road, said Cpl. Edwin Ritter with Gwinnett police.

The suspect, Mitchell D. Hart, 19, of Lawrenceville, was found hiding in a nearby vehicle. Hart was arrested and faces numerous charges, including armed robbery and high-jacking a vehicle, Ritter said. Hart was booked into the Gwinnett County jail, where he was being without bond.

Less than three hours later Thursday night, an off-duty officer headed home stopped a driver for a minor traffic violation on I-85. During a search of the vehicle, officers found 4 ounces of suspected heroin and half an ounce of marijuana, police said.

William Benham, 52, of Lawrenceville, was arrested on drug possession charges. Benham is being held on $12,563 bond.

The names of the off-duty officers involved in the arrests were not released.

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Jo'wan Bellamy taught in the GNETS program for 17 years and recently transferred to Atlanta’s new behavioral program at Crawford Long Middle School. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com