On June 17, 2018, just after 3:30 a.m., Deputies with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the Speedway Convenience Store in Sissonville, WV for a stolen WV DOT Courtesy Patrol truck. The 2018 model Ford F150 was being tracked using a GPS system. Dispatchers at Metro 911 worked with the Courtesy Patrol dispatchers to locate the vehicle and route responding law enforcement units. The first dispatched location was on Copen Branch Road off of Silas-Kanawha Two Mile Road in the Eden’s Fork area.
Deputies responded to the area from multiple directions and setup stop-sticks. Deputies saw two sets of headlights, one of which was the stolen Courtesy Patrol truck. The other was a vehicle stolen in the City of Dunbar earlier that night.
When Deputies attempted a traffic stop on the vehicles they both sped up and fled, eventually driving across stop sticks deployed by another Deputy Sheriff. The stop sticks disabled both vehicles. The stolen Chevrolet pickup lost control and crashed into an embankment. The courtesy patrol vehicle hit a guardrail.
Both drivers fled on foot, one jumping over the guardrail into a ravine of thick brush; the other fled towards a park-and-ride.
Corporal C. D. Lyons then deployed his apprehension K9 D’Jambo, who apprehended the driver of the stolen Courtesy Patrol truck while running through a thicket. This driver was later identified as Steven Clay, 21 years old of Charleston, WV.
Several minutes later, Corporal Lyons, Deputy Kay, Deputy Eskew and Deputy Carte entered the ravine to locate the driver of the stolen Chevrolet pickup. K9 D’Jambo then located the suspect in heavy brush. D’Jambo was able to apprehend the suspect and remove him from the brush, where he was detained and identified as James Bostic, 27 years old of Charleston, WV.
Both Mr. Bostic and Clay were charged with transferring or Receiving a stolen vehicle and Fleeing with reckless indifference. Additional charges may be filed at a later date.
As is always the case in criminal matters, the charges against Mr. Clay and Mr. Bostic are merely accusations. Each is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.