Habersham County has released more information about the three suspects arrested in a brief police chase in Clarkesville that resulted in an hours-long manhunt for one of the suspects on May 30.
Steven Ferguson, VonKeith Hall, and Darius Henry were all booked into the Habersham County Detention Center on Wednesday afternoon and evening.
Ferguson is being held on felony fleeing or attempting to elude police officer, misdemeanor obstruction or hindering law enforcement officer, and fugitive from justice.
Hall and Henry are both only charged with misdemeanor obstruction or hindering law enforcement officer.
Bond has not been set yet for the three suspects.
Henry was the last suspect arrested Wednesday evening after authorities searched the area in the vicinity of Wilbanks Lumber Yard and Dunkin Donuts in Clarkesville for five hours. He was later arrested on State Route 365 and Duncan Bridge Road during a traffic stop after leaving the area when a female driver picked him up in a white sedan.
Further charges are pending not only in Habersham County but in other jurisdictions in Georgia and at least five other states.
The woman who gave Henry a ride out of Clarkesville on Wednesday will not face charges at this time, according to the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office.
“She was cooperative and released on scene along with her adolescent daughter,” said Investigator George Cason.
The unidentified woman helped one of three suspects flee from the search area set up following a brief chase in Clarkesville on Wednesday, May 28.
Stolen credit card
According to a news release from the sheriff’s office released late Wednesday, Habersham County officials were contacted by investigators in the Dalton area who were tracking a rental vehicle that had three suspects who were involved in burglaries and thefts in their jurisdiction.
As Now Habersham first reported on Wednesday, that vehicle was tracked to Habersham County, where a Habersham County deputy encountered it near Dairy Queen in Clarkesville.
The deputy attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver fled initiating a brief car chase that ended in front of Dunkin Donuts in Clarkesville.
All three occupants of the vehicle fled on foot. Two went into the Wilbanks Lumber property, while the third went into the woods and continued to run on foot.
The two that went into the grounds of Wilbanks Lumber were apprehended in a woodpile inside a building by investigators, deputies, and other officers. One of the two men was wanted for aggravated assault.
The sheriff’s office says K9s “were unable to establish a true track on the third man due to wind and saturation in the area.”
Suspect slipped away after calling for ride
“While meeting with Habersham County Sheriff’s Investigator George Cason, Clarkesville Police Chief Danny Clouatre, and Officer Brant Benoit around 8 p.m., the three observed a white, late model vehicle with dark-tinted windows pick up a male who came out of the woods and then immediately left the area,” says Habersham County Public Information Officer Rob Moore.
“Because they were some distance from the vehicle, they and other units began to canvass the area attempting to locate it.”
According to Moore, Cason located the vehicle traveling south on GA 365 at Level Grove Road and initiated a traffic stop on GA 365 at Duncan Bridge Road in Baldwin once a backup unit arrived with him.
The third suspect, who was a passenger in that car, was arrested during the traffic stop.
In addition to pending obstruction and fleeing charges, “there was a crime that was committed there at My Georgia Credit Union where a debit card was used from a member of My Georgia Credit Union by these men, and we’re going to be following up on that,” Cason said.
‘Bigger than North Georgia’
All three men were booked at the Habersham County Detention Center in Clarkesville.
Cason said the case is bigger than just North Georgia.
“They’re going around using debit cards, credit cards, fraudulent checks, doing a lot of fraud and stuff where they’re stealing money from people,” Cason said. “It’s tied into about five different states, possibly six, all the way even out to Texas.”
Cason said the female driver who picked up the third man “was very cooperative.”
She had been called by the man saying there had been an emergency and she needed to come get him. Cason said when she saw that he was hot and sweaty, she suspected something might be wrong.
“She was just waiting for one of us to pull her over,” Cason said.
Investigation continues
“We especially want to thank Clarkesville Police Department for all their help, as well as all agencies that responded or sent personnel,” Cason said.
Other agencies assisting with the search include K9 teams from Banks County and White County, a helicopter from Georgia State Patrol Aviation, and police officers from Demorest and Baldwin.
No firearms were located on any of the suspects, and there was no information that any of them was armed.
The investigation is active and ongoing.
