Rideshare driver carjacked at gunpoint; suspects arrested after chase, CMPD says

Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's University City Division and Eastway Division are conducting an armed robbery of a motor vehicle and pursuit investigation.   

Mekayla Rodgers, 19, and Lonnie McConico, 18, ran from the crash, but were arrested by police with the help of K-9 Officers.

On Tuesday, February 7, 2023, at approximately 6:00 p.m., University City Division officers responded to an armed robbery of a motor vehicle in the University City Division.  The caller advised officers that an armed suspect approached a vehicle at a stoplight and opened the car door.  The suspect pointed a handgun at the driver of the car and demanded the driver to get out. The suspect then got into the vehicle and left the scene.

CMPD's Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) located the stolen vehicle inbound on The Plaza a short time later.  Eastway Division officers were alerted to the LPR hit and got behind the vehicle on The Plaza.  Officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop, however, the suspect failed to stop.   Officers pursued the vehicle for a short distance, eventually losing sight of the car.  Officers were in the process of terminating the pursuit and turning their emergency equipment off as they saw the accident up ahead. 

The suspect continued on, driving recklessly in traffic.  The suspect later crashed, hitting an uninvolved vehicle with an adult female and child inside at the intersection of Belmont Avenue and Harrill Street.  Officers arrived and assisted the mother and her child out of the vehicle.  Medic arrived on scene and transported both to an area hospital as a precaution.

The suspect jumped and ran from the stolen vehicle.  CMPD's K9 Unit responded to the scene and quickly tracked the suspect hiding inside of a trash can.  The suspect was arrested without further incident.  A handgun was located in the stolen vehicle.

Eastway and University City Division officers and Crime Scene Search responded to process the scene and collect physical evidence. Representatives from CMPD's Operations Command, K9 Unit, and the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) also assisted in the apprehension efforts.