Man charged in theft of police car, Aiken County crash

LEXINGTON, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - A man faces multiple charges in connection to the theft of a Lexington County deputy’s patrol vehicle and the pursuit that ensued.

Kevin Romero, 22, is charged with grand larceny, failure to stop for blue lights and reckless driving, according to arrest warrants.

“A deputy responded to a call about a civil dispute Monday night in the 3400 block of Augusta Road,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said. “Romero had a bat in his hand and eventually dropped it after numerous commands from the deputy to do so.”

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Romero, who was wanted by at least two Midlands law enforcement agencies, continued to put his hands in his pockets and told the deputy he had a knife in his pocket, according to Koon.

“The deputy was able to get the knife out of Romero’s pocket and put it on the ground,” Koon said. “As the deputy was trying to detain Romero, he started to resist and disregard commands. The deputy called for backup as they continued to struggle.”

The fight moved to the deputy’s patrol vehicle and Romero eventually made his way to the driver’s seat, which is where the deputy attempted to deploy his Taser, according to Koon.

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“Once Romero was in the vehicle, he shifted it into drive, drove away and initiated a pursuit,” Koon said. “A erby offered to help the deputy and they trailed Romero in the erby’s car for a while before meeting up with a second deputy.”

Other patrol units followed Romero until he crashed in Aiken County on Interstate 20 near mile marker five, according to Koon.

“Romero was taken into custody right after the crash and transported to the Lexington County Detention Center,” Koon said. “He’s still in jail, and more charges are expected against him in the coming days.

“This situation ended peacefully and without anybody getting hurt because a lot of agencies worked together,” Koon said. " The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division - SLED, the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the Georgia State Patrol, the Lexington Police Department, the Batesburg-Leesville Police Department, the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office and North Augusta Public Safety all coordinated with us, responded and monitored the incident to ensure a safe outcome.”