Mobile police arrested a carjacking suspect after a brief chase and crash, capping a two-day search that also tied the man to several burglaries around the Mobile area.
Officers took Tony Lavell Witherspoon, 45, of Prichard, into custody after he refused to stop for police and crashed into another vehicle on Craft Highway near Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, according to Mobile Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Rains. The driver of the other vehicle, who was not involved in the pursuit, was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.
Investigators said Witherspoon was expected to face multiple charges, including at least one count of robbery. Police had identified him earlier the same day as the suspect in a carjacking that occurred two days earlier in downtown Mobile.
According to detectives, a woman was attacked on the 400 block of Conti Street around 7 p.m. that Sunday. She suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening. The suspect took the keys to her 2007 Ford Explorer by force and fled in the vehicle, police said.
In the days that followed, Witherspoon was linked to several commercial burglaries in and around Mobile, Rains said, prompting officers to patrol the areas where the break-ins had occurred. Investigators said they were aware Witherspoon was traveling in the stolen SUV before officers spotted the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop.
“He refused to pull over and a short, low-speed pursuit took place,” Rains said.
Witherspoon was questioned by police and later transported to Mobile County Metro Jail. Investigators said he was also wanted on a separate robbery charge out of Baldwin County. According to Mobile County court records, he had previously pleaded guilty to charges including theft, robbery and possession of a forged instrument.
Police said the arrest closed out an active public-safety concern for the downtown Mobile area, where the carjacking had prompted an active search for the suspect.