BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG/KTAL) — Two Louisiana teens who escaped from a juvenile facility in Shreveport have been charged following a standoff that led to the shutdown of Interstate 65 in southwest Alabama Thursday.
According to authorities, the teenagers are charged with receiving stolen property for the stolen car, receiving stolen property for two stolen guns, possession of marijuana, and active pick-up orders out of Louisiana.
It happened on Thursday, July 29 when a sheriff’s deputy with a special operations unit pulled behind a 2007 Prius on I-65 northbound near mile marker 44, according to an email. When the deputy ran the tag number, they discovered the vehicle was reported stolen out of Shreveport.
The deputy then pulled the Prius over for a traffic stop. The driver reportedly complied with the deputy before being taken into custody, and they told deputies that two firearms were in the car’s glovebox.
A passenger in the front seat refused to comply or even acknowledge deputies and remained in the car. Because deputies believed the passenger could be armed, they treated the situation as “a barricaded gunman.”
It was then that SWAT was activated. With an armored vehicle, they spoke with the passenger. Once the second teen got out of the car, they were taken into custody and claimed they had been asleep.
Deputies say both teens had escaped from a juvenile detention center in Louisiana. They were taken to the juvenile center in Bay Minette and will eventually be taken back to Louisiana.