WOODWARD

CLEMSON — Police said a 17-year-old released from the Clemson City Jail last week walked to a nearby convenience store and stole a car, leading officers on a multi-county high-speed chase before being arrested again.

Clemson Police chief Jimmy Dixon said Emanuel Montez Woodward, of Anderson, was released last Tuesday from the jail on charges of failure to stop for blue lights, failure to stop on command and driving under suspension.

At around 4:30 p.m., Dixon said Woodward walked to a local convenience store, where he got in a vehicle a customer had left running in the parking lot and drove away as the woman walked out of the store.

Officers saw Woodward driving the vehicle and tried to stop him with blue lights and siren, but he sped away, side-swiping a vehicle in Clemson before heading toward Anderson County, police said.

As the chase continued into Anderson County, Woodward turned right on a side road off S.C. Highway 88, according to police, hitting another vehicle.

Officers lost sight of the vehicle on Mountain View Road, so Anderson County sheriff’s deputies and Clemson police set up a perimeter search for Woodward and the vehicle.

Woodward was soon seen walking down Firetower Road, where he was arrested without incident. The stolen vehicle was recovered in a field about 100 yards from where Woodward was arrested.

No one was injured in the collisions, police said.

Woodward was charged with grand larceny auto, failure to stop for blue lights and driving under suspension.

Dixon said it has also been determined that Woodward is a person of interest in thefts that occurred at several Upstate Walmart stores the night before his arrest.