x
Breaking News
More () »

Officer says he was trying to put a stolen car in park. Then he saw what looked like a grenade

This stemmed from an attempted traffic stop that led to a police pursuit.

DULUTH, Ga. -- A Duluth neighborhood got quite the scare on Saturday when what appeared to be a grenade was left in a stolen car involved in a police pursuit.

Fortunately, no one was hurt, but police are still looking for the man who ran from them. According to a Duluth Police Department report, the chase was less than a mile. 

The report said an X-ray showed that it was a dummy grenade, but upon further inspection, they discovered it had "been altered to cap off the bottom of it make it appear to be a real grenade" which authorities said makes it an "improvised explosive device."

While authorities looked for the fleeing suspect and worked to determine if the device was real, nearby neighbors had to be evacuated. 

Authorities released bodycam and dashcam video from the scene.

Police said this all started around 2:30 a.m. on June 29 when an officer sitting at a red light on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard at North Berkley Lake Road decided to run the license plate on the black Acura TL sitting in the turn lane in front of him. 

They both turned and the driver of the Acura pulled over, the police report states. By the time the officer passed the car, the tags came back showing that the licence plate belonged to another car.

The report said the officer turned around and attempted to make a traffic stop. However, the driver allegedly took off. The officer decided to follow the vehicle as it went onto Summit Ridge Parkway. Police said the driver then turned into a parking lot, speeding through it. 

Eventually, the driver went into a neighborhood on Thayer Trace, authorities said. As the officer got closer to the vehicle, police said they saw a person get out the passenger side but the Acura was still moving.

Unsure if the driver was inside of the car, the report said the officer pulled out his gun and approached the Acura with caution, giving commands for the driver to come out with his hands up. The vehicle rolled into a parked car in a driveway of Thayer Trace.

It turned out that no one was inside. Police said the man who jumped out on the passenger side was indeed the driver. It was then that the officer made the discovery of the device in the car.

Credit: Duluth Police

The report indicates the officer went inside of the Acura to shift it into park. He noticed wires sticking out and saw a possible grenade on the passenger side floorboard.

More officials responded to set up a perimeter around the vehicle. In the bodycam video, you hear the officer request others come to the scene.

"Can you get FD to come this way and stage, we got a possible grenade on the floorboard of the vehicle," the officer said. 

The police report said the VIN of the car showed that the Acura was carjacked in Gwinnett County in May. Authorities said the suspect, in that case, was Johnny Pich - the same man who allegedly fled from police in the Acura. 

Credit: Duluth Police
Johnny Pich

In the dashcam video, you can hear officers looking for the suspect. You can also hear them explaining the situation to residents.

"We need you to vacate the house," an officer tells a resident. "A car had an accident out here and there's a grenade inside of the car. We need your family to come outside." 

They also talked with the man whose vehicle was hit by the rolling Acura.

The police report said Gwinnett County officials took possession of the device and residents were allowed back inside of their homes when the scene was rendered safe. 

Also in the car, the incident report alleges officers found a cup with what appeared to be crystal meth and a 9mm handgun magazine with four rounds in it. 

Pich is wanted for hoax devises, attempting to conspire to commit an offense involving explosives, fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, reckless driving, willful obstruction of a law enforcement officer, hit-and-run, duty upon striking unattended vehicle, having an expired driver's license and theft by receiving stolen property. 

MORE NEWS:

Alleged sexual assault of inmates lands DeKalb jailer in jail

Body camera video of 87-year-old woman being tased released; officers cleared

Dangers lurk in the waters of Lake Lanier

 

Before You Leave, Check This Out