A man accused of taking a car at gunpoint Tuesday morning was apprehended after wrecking it a few hours later, the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office said.
William Leon Ballinger, 29, of Old …
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A man accused of taking a car at gunpoint Tuesday morning was apprehended after wrecking it a few hours later, the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office said.
William Leon Ballinger, 29, of Old Columbia Road is charged with carjacking, evading arrest, theft of property, possession of a schedule 2 drug and violation of probation. He was held on $63,500 bond.
The victim told investigators Ballinger flagged him down and asked for a ride to a home on Scales Road. Ballinger allegedly placed some items in the trunk of the victim’s Chevrolet Camaro.
Upon reaching the home, Ballinger allegedly asked the victim to watch as he removed only his own possessions from the trunk.
“When (the victim) went to the trunk, the guy stated that he hated to do this to him but that he was taking his car, and pulled a knife out of his pocket and lunged toward him,” Deputy Clayton Edgil said in his report. “(The victim) then backed up and told him to take the car.”
The victim went to a nearby home and asked the resident to call 911 as Ballinger allegedly sped away.
Finding the suspect
A vehicle tracker from the selling dealer pinged the Camaro to Ballinger’s home on Old Columbia Road. Sgt. Jared Featherstone and Deputy Brandon Jarrell found the Camaro backed behind the home with Ballinger and two other people near it, Jarrell’s report said.
Ballinger went to the car’s driver’s side door, allegedly refused orders at gunpoint to back away, and was struck with a taser shot by Jarrell in the upper arm and back.
“The shot was ineffective and Ballinger fled the scene,” Jarrell said.
The bystanders, Morgan Danielle Dunn, 27, of Hickerson Road, and Dustin Dwayne Phillips, 28, of Cartwright Road, were each charged with possession of a schedule 2 drug when a “syringe loaded with a brown liquid” was found in Dunn’s vehicle, Jarrell said. They posted $1,000 bonds.
Ballinger crashed and abandoned the Camaro on Roy Moore Road, Edgil said. Deputies found Ballinger hiding under an old abandoned barn nearby.
Charges of carjacking, evading arrest, possession of a schedule 2 drug, theft of property and violation of probation were filed against Ballinger. He was held on $63,500 bond
