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Trouble began for Devin Laws, 26, of Blackwater, around 6:50 a.m. Monday, March 4 along Musselman Road, when he approached a woman holding a hammer in one hand and chainsaw in the other, the county sheriff said.
Laws brought the hammer up in a motion to swing it toward the car window, police said. The driver remained composed and drove away.
As deputies arrived and began the search for the suspect, they were flagged down by another resident on the street with the report of another crime. This resident reported waking up to a noise in his home at 6:30 a.m. When he went to investigate the noise, he encountered the same carjacking suspect in his home. Upon seeing the homeowner, Laws fled from the residence, Sheriff David Decatur said.
"Additional reports continued to filter into the Sheriff’s Office of the suspect ringing assorted doorbells in the area," Decatur said. "Various pieces of the suspects clothing and the chainsaw were located as K-9 began to track the suspect toward I-95."
During the K-9 track, deputies recovered a handgun that Laws had dropped during his misguided flight. Drone continued to watch from the air as observant neighbors continued to report sightings of Laws
After nearly three hours, Laws was found in the woods behind Rappahannock Landing subdivision, and quickly arrest. Police found brass knuckles in his pocket, they said.
As Deputy J.A. Buzzard transported the suspect to the magistrate, an additional resident reported Laws had attempted to enter his home on Denison Street in Celebrate Virginia with the handgun displayed. Ring camera footage confirmed it was the same handgun recovered by K-9 during the track.
Laws claimed he was in the area to do landscaping work.
"He is now in the Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond on charges of breaking and entering, attempted carjacking, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a concealed weapon after a felony conviction, petit larceny, and vandalism," authorities said. The stolen chainsaw was returned to the rightful owner.
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