Manhunt ends in Chilton County, suspects in custody
CHILTON COUNTY, Ala. (WBMA) — A manhunt that began Monday has ended in Chilton County Tuesday evening.
The search was focused in the area of CR-156 after being suspended the night before.
Police said they were searching for two suspects who eluded from police Monday. Chilton County Sheriff John Shearon said from his understanding, Alabaster police were looking at the man and the woman for retail theft.
"Alabaster investigators started the pursuit, it came through Calera, Calera police officers got involved in the pursuit, coming down into Chilton County. Chilton County Sheriff’s Office, Jemison Police Department, Clanton, we all got involved in the pursuit, we ended up on CR-156 in Jemison, Archer’s Chapel area. We were able to get them pinned down, they bailed on the vehicle. We were able to get the suspect vehicle we were after. They hit the woods," said Chilton County Sheriff John Shearon.
Shearon adds, "during the pursuit, they tried ramming a Calera investigator in his patrol vehicle."
The truck the suspects were originally driving in has been recovered. Shearon said the tag was switched.
Authorities believe the suspects are Christopher John Carmada and Zelda Resha. Both are known to law enforcement. Carmada's criminal history dates back to 2001.
"That’s the thing about it, when you get into situations where you don’t pursue, that makes it worse for anything else. You have to weigh your options, if heavy traffic, I mean whatever the case may be. You may have to cancel a pursuit if it gets dangerous, but if you don’t pursue at all, everybody is going to start running and that’s going to be the problem, when they all run because they know nobody is going to chase 'em, that’s exactly what they are going to do," said Shearon. "That’s going to be the pattern they get in, we’re just going to run because we know nobody is going to chase us, well here we are going to chase you, and we’re going to get you, were going to track you with dogs, and track you with every asset we have to bring you to justice."
Law enforcement continued their search efforts when the suspected were spotted Tuesday morning in the same area where the search was suspended the night before.
"They gotta come out at some point in time, and somebody is going to call, just like they did this morning," said Shearon.
Police said they did not know if the couple has weapons, but they should be considered armed and dangerous. People were asked not to approach the pair, but call police immediately.
"We just really don’t know exactly what they are running from right now, but if anyone sees them do not approach them, just document where they see them at and call us and let us know," said Shearon. "I would consider them armed and dangerous because we don’t know for sure. I'd rather people air on the side of caution, so I would say they should be considered armed and dangerous because we just don’t know at this point."
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The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Aviation unit, the Chilton County Sheriff's Office, the Calera Police Department, the Clanton Police Department, the Jemison Police department and multiple other agencies all helped with the search.
"Everybody is coming to help and we appreciate that because we couldn’t do that without them," said Shearon.
A woman who lives in the area of where the search was happening said it was encouraging to see how quickly law enforcement was on top of the situation.
"I mean it’s a little scary but we watched all the cops go by, so we know they are working hard," she said. "We believe the criminals are going to be found at some point, so we're just hoping innocent people stay safe in the process."
The sheriff's office asked that people in the area lock their doors, secure vehicles, and call 911 if you see anything suspicious.