FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — What began as a reported shoplifting incident at a Fredericksburg Target store quickly escalated into a vehicle pursuit spanning multiple jurisdictions and ending with two suspects in custody.
According to the Fredericksburg Police Department, officers were dispatched to the Target store at 1180 Carl D. Silver Parkway around 12:05 p.m. on June 12 after receiving a report that two men were stealing merchandise and leaving the area in a U-Haul truck.
When officers arrived, they confirmed that Lego merchandise had been stolen from the store. Police located the U-Haul traveling south toward Route 3 and conducted a traffic stop. The driver, identified as 29-year-old Stephon Davis of Richmond, was taken into custody without incident. Police said Davis is known to law enforcement from previous similar theft investigations.
Authorities soon learned that a second suspect had left the scene in a red Chrysler. Officers located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, but the driver allegedly refused to stop and began weaving through traffic. During the attempt to flee, the suspect struck three vehicles before entering Interstate 95 northbound.
The pursuit continued into Stafford County, where deputies from the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office and troopers from Virginia State Police joined the effort. Police said the driver continued evading law enforcement before colliding with another vehicle and losing control near mile marker 141 on Interstate 95. The vehicle became disabled following the crash.
Officers reported seeing the driver exit the vehicle and run across the southbound lanes of the interstate into a wooded area. A Fredericksburg Police K9 team tracked the suspect and took him into custody. He was identified as 21-year-old Jayden Ballard of Mechanicsville. Ballard was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of possible injuries related to the crash and K9 apprehension.
Davis faces charges of shoplifting merchandise valued at more than $1,000, conspiracy to commit larceny over $1,000, and organized retail theft involving more than $5,000 in merchandise within a 90-day period.
Ballard faces many of the same theft-related charges in addition to felony hit-and-run, felony eluding police, driving without a license, obstruction, and wearing a mask in certain places. Police also served Ballard on four outstanding warrants from Richmond, Chesterfield County, and Henrico County.
The Fredericksburg Police Department credited the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police for assisting in bringing the incident to a close.
The case remains active, and all charges are allegations until proven in court.