UPDATE Nov. 10

On Nov. 7, Deputy J. Vezzosi observed a gold Toyota Camry with Maryland registration.  A check of the registration revealed the vehicle was stolen from Charles County.

 Deputy Vezzosi activated his emergency equipment and attempted to stop the vehicle.  The driver of the vehicle refused to stop and a vehicle pursuit ensued.  The pursuit continued onto Beach Drive in Mechanicsville, through a yard, through a surf wall and into the water. 

The driver, who was identified as Clifton Cornelius Pickeral, 28, was extremely intoxicated and attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended.  The passenger in the vehicle has been identified as John R. Garner, 28 of Leonardtown.

Pickeral was charged with theft $1,000 to $10,000, theft on under $100 and Malicious Destruction of Property, along with numerous traffic offenses. Garner was also charged with  theft $1,000 to $10,000, theft on under $100 and Malicious Destruction of Property.

Golden Beach was the scene of a bizarre series of arrests. Charles County Sheriff’s received a report of a stolen Toyota Corolla and issued an alert to authorities in neighboring counties. The Toyota was eventually spotted by a St. Mary’s County Sheriff Deputy in the early evening of  Saturday, Nov. 7.

The stolen Corolla was spotted at Fred’s Liquor store at the intersection of Golden Beach Road and Route 5. After receiving confirmation that the car spotted was indeed the stolen vehicle, that deputy along with a K-9 unit proceeded to make an attempt to pull over the vehicle. The suspects in the car continued down Golden Beach Road and began a series of evasive tactics in the Golden Beach neighborhood.

The pursuit took a more interesting turn when the suspects drove down to the dead end at the entrance to the beach. When stopped by a gate at the beach enterance, the suspects drove the stolen vehicle into a driveway, around a house and sped toward the water. At some point the suspects jumped from the car while it was still moving and tried to escape on foot. The car ended up nearly 20 feet out in the water.

Police continued the chase on foot and the K-9 was deployed in the effort. One suspect was caught by the K-9 and arrested. A second suspect was captured a few minutes later. There is an unconfirmed report that the third suspect was captured shortly before 1 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8.

No further details are known at this time.

An update will be provided as information is released by authorities.