Chad Campbell and Gene Graham of North Lauderdale. {BSO}
By Ryan Yousefi
Two North Lauderdale men were arrested and charged with crimes related to a stolen Tamarac vehicle after leading multiple officers from the Margate Police Department on a foot chase.
Chad Campbell, 18, and Gene Graham, 19, both of North Lauderdale, were arrested and charged with multiple crimes after fleeing the scene where the vehicle was located.
According to Campbell’s arrest report, during a routine patrol on February 8, a Margate police officer patrolling the area near the Little Ceasar’s Pizza restaurant at 277 S State Road 7 witnessed an older model tan Honda Accord back into a parking spot.
Upon seeing his vehicle, the officer said the occupants, later identified as Campbell and Graham, began acting suspiciously, so as a precaution, the officer ran the vehicle’s license plate.
According to the arrest report, the license plate search revealed the vehicle had been reported stolen from Tamarac just one day prior.
The report states after seeing the officer, Campbell, and Graham exited the vehicle. They walked toward Little Ceasar’s before returning a few moments to the car and attempting to jumpstart it.
Before the men could jumpstart the vehicle, the report says Margate SOD (Special Operations Division) team moved in. Upon seeing the police, Campbell and Graham ran northbound on North State Road 7.
After a few minutes of chase, Campbell was apprehended and taken into custody.
Officers attempting to apprehend Graham witnessed him walking southbound in front of the businesses before taking off running and hopping a wall near the 6100 block of Southwest 4th Place, according to the arrest report.
An officer in pursuit of Graham hopped over the wall and observed a shed door in a backyard as it was closing. Graham was found hiding in the shed and was taken into custody alongside Campbell, according to the police report.
During questioning, Campbell told police he had been hanging out with the Graham all day and had borrowed the stolen car from a black male known as “T-Mac.”
Graham told officers he had walked to Little Ceasar’s and had not been in the vehicle.
Campbell was arrested and charged with felony grand theft and resisting an officer charges, while Graham was taken into custody and charged with trespassing and resisting a police officer.
Both men were taken to the Broward County Main Jail.
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