Authorities use OnStar service to disable stolen car, catch robbery suspect

Authorities investigating a carjacking this morning in Opelika, Ala., used OnStar communications services to trace the stolen car and disable it during a brief chase in western Georgia.

Terrance Stevenson, 29, was taken into custody off Interstate 85 in Coweta County, authorities said.

Stevenson will be charged with one count of first-degree robbery when he returns to Alabama, Capt. Allan Elkins of the Opelika Police Department said.

The carjacking happened about 8:45 a.m. CDT at the Fourth Street Station on Columbus Parkway. Stevenson is accused of robbing a 68-year-old Opelika woman at gunpoint and stealing her 2011 Chevrolet Cruze.

Investigators contacted OnStar after the carjacking and soon learned the vehicle was traveling north on I-85. After the vehicle was disabled, it came to a stop on the highway near the Moreland exit.

“We were all around it at that time," said Maj. Jim Yarbrough of the Coweta County Sheriff's Office. "He was apprehended immediately."

Stevenson was not charged in connection with the chase in Coweta County, but was quickly taken to DeKalb County, where he was wanted in connection with an armed robbery and aggravated assault that happened Monday in Stone Mountain, Ga. Sgt. Adrion Bell of the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office said it appeared Stevenson tried to steal an SUV from someone and stabbed the victim in the head with a pen.

"It looks like in the attempt he used an ink pen and tried to stab the victim in the head," Bell said.

Stevenson also is wanted in Hogansville, Ga., Yarbrough said.

The arrest highlighted the advantages of technology that are increasingly used by law enforcement officials investigating crimes.

According to its website, OnStar provides a service known as Stolen Vehicle Slowdown that is designed to reduce the risk of high-speed chases. "Once a stolen vehicle has been located by an Advisor and law enforcement at the scene confirms that conditions are safe," the website says, "OnStar can send a remote signal that gradually slows the vehicle."

Elkins said he could not recall a case off hand in which OnStar was used during a police chase, but he called the service "an investigative tool."

"It can be useful to law enforcement when you’re tracking stolen cars or persons who are wanted who happen to have a car that has that feature on it," Elkins said.

Elkins and Yarbrough said that authorities have not yet determined Stevenson's home address. "He's not really cooperative at this point," Elkins said.

This story was originally published June 7, 2011 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Authorities use OnStar service to disable stolen car, catch robbery suspect."