Carjacker drives into dead-end street

A man who carjacked a vehicle in McClellanville Friday night drove it into a dead-end street and had to drive back past the victim and a sheriff's deputy to get the stolen vehicle out of town, authorities said.

Lonnie Lamar Hazleton, 27, of Vanderbrook Place, North Charleston, is charged with carjacking, two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. He was being held in the Charleston County jail pending a bond hearing, Charleston County sheriff's Capt. Eric Watson said in a news release issued Saturday.

Additional charges are expected to be filed by Berkeley County authorities.

No one was injured when deputies and the suspect exchanged gunfire in the McClellanville area, Watson said.

The incident began Friday evening in Berkeley County, where a car was hijacked and a chase began that crossed into Charleston County, Watson said. The car apparently was taken from Jamestown, Berkeley County sheriff's spokesman Dan Moon said.

Shortly after 8 p.m., Charleston County deputies were dispatched to a reported carjacking in McClellanville.

The victim told deputies he had been driving his vehicle when someone drove up beside him and fired several gunshots. The suspect then pulled in front of the victim's vehicle and ordered the victim to get out, Watson said.

The gunman jumped into the victim's vehicle and then began traveling toward the dead end of Pinckney Street in McClellanville.

While the deputy was on the scene, taking a report, the suspect came back down Pinckney Street with the victim's car.

The deputy tried to stop the vehicle, but the suspect increased his speed and tried to run over the deputy. The suspect fired several shots in the direction of the deputy and the victim, Watson said. The deputy returned fire, but the suspect drove off, heading north on U.S. Highway 17 into Georgetown County, where he crashed and was apprehended by Georgetown County deputies.

He said the suspect was treated by EMS for minor injuries sustained in his two crashes.

On Friday night, Watson said that because the incident crossed through many jurisdictions, and because deputies exchanged gunfire with the suspect, the State Law Enforcement Division has been asked to investigate.