The Auburn Police Division on Wednesday charged a 21-year-old man with breaking into a local car dealership and stealing a car.
Police arrested Damion D. Johnson, from Auburn, on warrants charging him with first-degree theft of property, first-degree criminal mischief and second-degree criminal trespassing. The arrest happened after police received a call at about 2:45 a.m. from an alarm at a dealership in the 2000 block of South College Street.
Police saw a 2009 Chevrolet Impala crashing through a gate at the back of the dealership. They pursued the vehicle northbound on I-85 and stopped it near mile marker 52. Before stopping, the vehicle struck a tractor-trailer before leaving the roadway.
Johnson was identified as the driver of the vehicle before being arrested.
Police said Johnson unlawfully entered the dealership's fenced property, causing damage to both the building and the gate in his attempt to steal the 2009 Impala that he used to flee from police pursuit.
He is being held at the Lee County Jail on a $8,500 bond.
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