U.S. Marshals Apprehend Auto Dealership Burglar

Charleston, SC - The U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force (CRFTF), in coordination with the Charleston Police Department (CPD), on January 31, 2024 located and arrested a man wanted by the CPD for stealing over $500,000 worth of vehicles.      

Jaci Deshawn Johnson, 26, was wanted in connection with the January 8th burglary of several vehicles at an auto dealership in the 1400 block of Savannah Highway in Charleston, South Carolina. Johnson, along with other individuals, is alleged to have committed the burglary. 

Investigators located Johnson at an apartment complex in the 1000 block of Old Gilliard Road in Ridgeville, South Carolina. As Johnson and another man were departing in a stolen Dodge Durango, CRFTF investigators and officers with the Berkley County Sheriff’s Department conducted a vehicle containment maneuver. Johnson rammed the Durango into the CRFTF and police vehicles in an attempt to elude law enforcement. Both men then fled on foot but were apprehended.

Johnson was transported and turned over to the custody of the CPD and additionally charged with two counts of attempted murder, possession of a stolen handgun, possession of a stolen vehicle and resisting arrest. The other man, identified as Kadelle Childers, has been charged with possession of a stolen firearm, unlawful carry of a firearm and resisting arrest. 

A search warrant was executed at the residence, and law enforcement recovered a total of five guns, approximately 15 key fobs to various vehicles, a tracking device, blank credit cards for cloning, and 10 switches to make rifles fully automatic. Law enforcement also recovered two stolen vehicles.   

The CRFTF began operations in January 2018. The CRFTF has partnership agreements with more than 81 federal, state, and local agencies and operates in North Carolina and South Carolina. The CRFTF has apprehended more than 6,600 fugitives since its inception and is always striving to make communities safer.