Hoover car theft leads to multi-city chase: Passenger jumps from moving vehicle
A Birmingham man is under arrest after Hoover police say he stole his girlfriend’s vehicle with her friend still inside and then led police on a chase through multiple cities.
The friend jumped from the moving vehicle in east Birmingham and was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Once Hoover police learned the woman was out of the vehicle, they stopped the pursuit because they knew his identity.
Birmingham police captured the suspect more than 12 hours later on the city’s westside.
Rodricus Cortez Bradberry, 31, is charged in Jefferson County with two counts of attempting to elude. He is charged in Shelby County with unauthorized use of a vehicle, third-degree domestic violence and unlawful imprisonment.
His bonds in both counties total $87,000. He is in the Hoover City Jail awaiting transfer to the jails in Shelby and Jefferson counties.
The ordeal began about 8:46 a.m. Sunday when Hoover police responded to the 1800 block of Lemon Mint Circle, said Hoover Police Lt. Daniel Lowe.
The 911 caller told police her boyfriend had stolen her vehicle as he dropped her off for work at a nearby residence.
Responding officers spotted the stolen vehicle at Highway 31 and Interstate 459.
Police initiated a vehicle pursuit and were joined by neighboring agencies as the pursuit continued on I-459 northbound and I-20 westbound into Birmingham.
During the pursuit officers learned the victim’s friend was still inside the vehicle.
Lowe said the friend jumped from the vehicle in the area of First Avenue North near 64th Street as the pursuit continued.
The woman was taken to the hospital where she was treated and released for non-life-threatening injuries sustained when she jumped from the moving vehicle.
Since the suspect was the only person remaining in the vehicle and police had his identity, the ended the chase and broadcast his description to surrounding law enforcement agencies.
Detectives began an investigation and determined the initial victim and owner of the vehicle was in a domestic relationship with the suspect.
The three had traveled together from their respective residences in Birmingham to drop the victim off at work on Lemon Mint Circle.
A domestic argument ensued over the suspect’s continued use of the vehicle while the victim remained at work.
The argument turned physical and resulted in the suspect using physical force to push the victim out of her vehicle and leave the area, Lowe said.
Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Birmingham’s West Precinct officers saw the stolen vehicle at the intersection of Wilson Road and Oak Avenue and initiated another vehicle pursuit.
The suspect fled into the western part of Jefferson County until the pursuit ended with the suspect’s arrest in the 6100 block of Valley Avenue in Fairfield.
The suspect was turned over to Hoover police immediately after his arrest.
The Shelby County charges relate to the initial domestic argument, the theft of the vehicle and the victim’s friend being unable to exit the vehicle when it was stolen.