[STOLEN] Police Arrest Car Thief Who Attempted to Hide in a Swamp After Crashing a Stolen C7 Corvette

Sep 11, 2024

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[STOLEN] Police Arrest Car Thief Who Attempted to Hide in a Swamp After Crashing a Stolen C7 Corvette

Photo Credit: Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office

Police never know where their work will lead them. Early Friday morning, lawmen from a small North Carolina jurisdiction had to arrest their suspect in a swamp after a high-speed chase of a stolen Corvette.

The suspect was ultimately accused of stealing the blue C7 Stingray in Virginia, but police in Scotland Neck, North Carolina didn’t know that when they first tried to execute a traffic stop of the speeding car.

When the driver fled, a chase ensued (conducted during a period of little to no traffic, police said) and reached speeds at times in excess of 100 mph.

[STOLEN] Police Arrest Car Thief Who Hid in a Swamp After Crashing a Stolen C7 Corvette

Sgt. Lawrence of the Scotland Neck Police Department led the chase through multiple counties that eventually crossed into Princeville, where Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Tarboro Police Department officers had been positioned to help.

The pursuit finally came to an end when the Corvette crashed into a guardrail. The suspect then climbed out of the heavily damaged Stingray and ran into a nearby swamp and then into a pond.

Police used a drone with thermal imagery to locate two people hiding in the water, with a female passenger rescued and taken by EMS to ECU Health Edgecombe to be checked.

Meanwhile, the driver of the Corvette tried to flee but was apprehended and identified as 24-year-old Zyrell Webb of Fayetteville, North Carolina. After being taken to the same hospital for evaluation, Webb is being detained at Halifax County Detention Center without bond because of several pending cases. No significant injuries were reported.

In connection to Friday’s incident, he now faces new charges of felony fleeing to elude arrest, felony hit and run, felony possession of a stolen vehicle, resisting a public officer, leaving the scene of an accident, fictitious tags, and speeding.

“Criminals cross boundaries and county lines, and because they do, we work together with our law enforcement partners to get them into custody. This morning was a prime example of teamwork,” said Scotland Neck Police Chief Tommy Parker, who arrived on the scene and helped with the search.