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Courtesy photo Clayton Wilkerson, an 18-yearold male from Kingston was arrested on May 25 on mulitple charges after allegedly stealing a Mercedes.
A couple had their car stolen, and a local man – later identified as Clayton Wilkerson – is in jail after a quick stop to ‘window shop.’
Kingston Police Officer Dakota Hanks was dispatched to the area of Wholesale Trailer Manufacturing on Highway 70 at approximately 12:30 p.m. on May 24. He was advised that a vehicle had been stolen from that area.
Hanks arrived on scene and made contact with the female victim who informed Hanks that her husband, Joe Johnson, had exited his vehicle to look at a manufactured home when Wilkerson allegedly jumped in the vehicle and sped off.
Johnson attempted to follow his Mercedes in his wife’s Honda Acura.
Unfortunately, the chase was short-lived because Johnson lost sight of his beloved Mercedes.
After losing sight of Wilkerson, Johnson turned back to Wholesale Trailer Manufacturing, where his wife and Hanks were speaking.
Once Johnson returned, Hanks was able to obtain the pertinent information to distribute to the other officers involved in the search. The stolen car was a red Mercedes Benz, two-door hardtop with custom plates.
This information was distributed to all other law enforcement involved, and luckily, it made the vehicle easy to spot.
Thirty minutes later, all units were advised that the Mercedes was spotted heading northbound from the McBride area. Within minutes, Marshall County Deputy Latasha Broadhead spotted the vehicle and initiated pursuit of the vehicle.
Fortunately for all involved, Wilkerson apparently did not feel like taking all the officers on a joyride, because soon after Broadhead initiated pursuit, he stopped the vehicle.
Allegedly, Wilkerson was not going down without a fight, though. According to Hanks’ report, Wilkerson was resisting and being combative. It took multiple attempts and several pairs of handcuffs to apprehend the suspect.
Once Wilkerson was in custody, Hanks read the suspect his rights, to which he rebutted that he did not understand his rights.
Marshall County Sheriff Danny Cryer drove to Kingston in his personal vehicle to escort the victim and assist them in obtaining their property.
Hanks searched the vehicle to ensure that Wilkerson did not leave anything illegal in it, and released the vehicle back to the Johnsons.
Wilkerson was brought to the Marshall County Jail and booked for Larceny of an Automobile, Resisting Arrest, and Attempting to Elude Officers.
While back at the jail, Wilkerson became combative with the officers again, refusing to cooperate. Hanks was forced to take Wilkerson to the ground due to his combative nature.
An online search found that Wilkerson was arrested and charged for similar actions in Carthage, Texas. Ironically, a gentleman he had left his truck unattended while washing some parts at a car wash, and Wilkerson allegedly jumped in the truck and took off.
Sadly, the first gentleman was not as lucky as Johnson, because Wilkerson crashed the truck into a tree.
Johnson said people need to be aware, because he only turned his eyes away for a second. “It’s amazing how quick it was,” Johnson said.
He said he and his wife had looked away from his car for mere seconds to look into a window of a manufactured home they were interested in purchasing.
“I had my hands cupped around my eyes to see through the window,” Johnson said. “Then I looked up and saw my car moving. I initially thought I forgot to put it in park.”
Johnson said he then realized somebody had jumped in his car and stole it.
He said he appreciates how quick and professional the Kingston Police Department and the Sheriff’s Department were during this incident.
“Officer Hanks and Deputy Broadhead did an amazing job,” Johnson said.