FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) -- Police have arrested two Fayetteville men linked to the theft of several cars from a local dealership earlier this week.
Joe McDaniel, 37, and Whitson Carlisle, 43, were arrested Wednesday (Dec. 27) in connection with theft by receiving, fleeing and obstructing governmental operations.
McDaniel also faces felony charges of commercial burglary, theft of property and first-degree criminal mischief.
Fayetteville police have recovered 13 vehicles stolen about 7 a.m. Tuesday (Dec. 26) from Lewis Automotive at 3373 N. College Avenue.
More vehicles are still missing and an investigation is ongoing, according to Sgt. Anthony Murphy, Fayetteville police spokesman.
Police on Tuesday spotted a stolen Ford Raptor pull into a gas station on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Officers detained one man, later identified as McDaniel, but the driver sped off, according to the report.
Moments later, police got a call from a nearby E-Z Mart, where a caller said a man just entered the store and went into the bathroom to make a phone call.
Police arrived at the store and found Carlisle, who had tried to call McDaniel. Police said Carlisle also had the keys to the Raptor.
"The suspects just happened to pop up out of nowhere driving other stolen vehicles just in front of the officers. The officers were on high alert looking for these vehicles and were able to locate the suspects inside of the vehicles," Murphy said.
Carlisle and McDaniel were being held Wednesday at the Washington County Detention Center with no bonds set.