Carmen Rodgers
Elmore Autauga News
Four juveniles from the Holtville area have been identified in connection with a series of rock-throwing incidents that endangered motorists and damaged multiple vehicles along Alabama Highway 14, Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin confirmed Thursday.
Franklin told Elmore Autauga News that investigators devoted approximately 122 man-hours to the case, using surveillance footage, traditional investigative techniques and cell phone tracking technology to identify the suspects.
Investigators also identified the suspect vehicle as a Kia Optima, Franklin said.
Around the same time detectives were identifying the suspects, the juveniles’ parents came to the sheriff’s office. Franklin said the information provided by the parents confirmed what investigators had already developed through their investigation.
The investigation began after a series of incidents on the night of June 27, when the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office received more than 15 reports of occupants of a Kia Optima allegedly throwing large rocks at passing vehicles along Alabama Highway 14. The incidents damaged multiple vehicles and created what authorities described as an extremely dangerous situation for motorists.
Investigators previously said surveillance footage showed the vehicle’s occupants collecting large rocks from a parking lot in Tallassee before traveling to Highway 14, where the rocks were allegedly thrown at passing vehicles. The sheriff’s office later released surveillance images and asked the public for help identifying those responsible. A reward was also offered for information leading to arrests.
Franklin praised the work of the sheriff’s office detectives, whose investigation ultimately led to the identification of the four juveniles. The case will be handled through the juvenile justice system because all four suspects are minors, and their identities will not be released.
“This investigation required a tremendous amount of work by our detectives,” Franklin said, noting the combination of investigative techniques and information provided by the juveniles’ parents helped bring the case to a resolution.
