Martial arts, failed stick shift carjacking, wrong-way I-95 pursuit: How three men ended up in a Virginia jail

Posted: Oct 13, 2021 / 01:39 PM EDT

Updated: Oct 13, 2021 / 09:39 PM EDT

STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Three suspects are in jail after a violent attempted carjacking and pursuit in North Stafford County on Tuesday — but a lot happened before they got arrested.

According to a press release, deputies with the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office initially responded to the Anytime Fitness at 25 Tech Parkway for a disturbance around 4:51 p.m. on Tuesday.

Callers reported that three males had attacked a gymgoer in an attempt to steal his car, said police.

Once on scene, deputies discovered the men had approached the victim with a wooden stick and hit him multiple times in an attempt to steal his vehicle. However, the three men were in for a surprise after the victim began to fight back against the attackers. Police say the would-be victim was trained in mixed martial arts.

Police say that one of the suspects was able to grab the victim’s car key and attempted to steal the car. The suspect got behind the wheel and was confused by the manual transmission and couldn’t figure out how to drive the vehicle.

At this point, police say people from inside the gym noticed the commotion and rushed to thwart the attempted robbery. All three suspects got back to their vehicle to get away from the scene.

Deputies learned the suspects were driving a white Acura sedan with Mississippi license plates. Within minutes, the vehicle was located near I-95 and deputies attempted a traffic stop, according to the release.

Instead of stopping, the suspects initiated a pursuit and went north on Interstate 95, hitting a top speed of 98 miles per hour, said police.

The suspects then entered the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, crashed through the barrier and began driving northbound while traffic was heading southbound. The suspects stopped their vehicle at the 147-mile marker to run away from the scene after exiting their car, according to the press release.

But the sheriff’s office had a K-9 unit to track the men through the woods. Police say they were quickly tracked through heavy brush and ordered to the ground.

While two suspects were handcuffed and on the ground, the third tried to run away but was tracked down by the K-9 again within 50 yards.

The suspects have been identified as Jabez Clark, 19, Korey Richardson, 18 and Jacob Land, 20. All are being held at Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond.