A 34-year-old Savannah man was arrested Thursday morning after police officers caught him driving a stolen Mercedes.
Dontre Tramaine Swann was charged with theft by receiving an auto and misdemeanor marijuana possession after Savannah-Chatham police officers ran him down on foot after he bolted from the silver, late-model car that had been reported stolen from a Wilmington Island residence on Dec. 9, said Julian Miller, police spokesman.
Miller said officers saw the vehicle speeding down Middleground Road this morning and used a police helicopter patrolling in the area to follow it. Officers on the ground waited for the vehicle near the intersection of Fergusen Avenue and Diamond Causeway, where Swann stopped the car and fled on foot.
Another woman also fled, but police later determined she was not aware the vehicle was stolen. Miller said she was not charged in the incident.
With the help of a K-9 unit, officers captured Swann nearby in the woods and discovered the marijuana in his possession, Miller said.
The Mercedes was stolen earlier this month from a home on Island Drive. Miller said a spare key was kept inside the vehicle, and it was unlocked when it was taken.
During the incident Thursday morning, Miller added, a Savannah-Chatham police cruiser that was heading to help in the pursuit was struck by a cement truck near the intersection of Waters Avenue and Montgomery Crossroad. No one was injured in the wreck.