3 teens say they went to Coweta County to break into cars, arrested for stealing one, deputies say

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A trio of teenagers are in custody after telling authorities they traveled to a metro Atlanta county to break into cars, but ended up stealing one and leading deputies on a chase.

Coweta County deputies say they saw a stolen car in the parking lot of Dick’s Sporting Goods. When the teens inside saw them, they drove off and began speeding through a busy area near Ashley Park.

Once they got away from an area filled with pedestrians, deputies performed a PIT maneuver to stop the car.

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All three teens got out of the car and began running.

The driver, 17-year-old Jason Lewis Stephenson, dropped a bag with a gun inside while he was running. He was arrested in the woods a short time later.

Two 16-year-old passengers were also arrested. They have not been identified.

The car they were in was determined to have been stolen from DeKalb County.

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Stephenson was charged with two counts of theft by receiving, fleeing and attempting to elude and obstruction.

The passengers were charged with two counts of theft by receiving and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

The 16-year-olds are being held in the Youth Detention Center and Stephenson was taken to the Coweta County Jail.

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