Media

Empty Gas Tank Leads to Capture of Carjackers

Select a text size:
Normal	Large

Release Date: August 27, 2008

Travis Owens

Two men who Deputies believe carjacked another man near Raleigh were captured this morning after their stolen car ran out of gas. 

Travis Owens, 22 and a 17 year-old accomplice, were arrested just after two o’clock in Bartlett.  Sheriff’s detectives say the two took a 2003 maroon Ford Crown Victoria during a carjacking late last night in the 4600 block of Royal View Drive.

David Crowe, 39, of Memphis, told detectives he stopped at a service station at Covington Pike and Stage Road and agreed to give two men a ride for $10. 

The two asked to be taken to a home in the 4800 block of Royal Hill Cove.  Both men went inside the home but only Owens came back to the car.  He then asked Crowe to drive him to another house in the 4600 block of Royal View Drive.   That’s when Crowe said Owens beat him over the head with a pistol and pushed him out of the car. Crowe was treated by paramedics but not admitted to the hospital.

A couple of hours later, Bartlett Police were called about the two suspects standing in the intersection of Stage Road at Kirby Whitten Road trying to flag down motorists.  The stolen car had run out of gas.

When the Bartlett officers approached, both of the suspects ran.  The teenager was quickly captured.  However, Sheriff’s Deputies from both the Patrol and K9 Bureaus joined Bartlett Police and a Memphis Police helicopter to search for Owens.   The Sheriff’s K9 Deputy found Owens a few minutes later hiding behind a building near the intersection.                                  

Both Owens and the teenager have been charged with Carjacking, Especially Aggravated Robbery and Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony.

^ Return to Top