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Dustin Joshua Abbott
LAWRENCE COUNTY– The Lawrence County Sheriff reports vehicle pursuit involving a stolen 18-wheeler cab that resulted in the arrest of one person:
“On December 8th 2021 at approx. 10:30 pm Lawrence County Dispatch was notified of a vehicle pursuit of a possible stolen 18 wheeler entering Lawrence County from Morgan County. Sheriff Max Sanders states that the pursuit entered Lawrence County on County Road 87. At one point during the pursuit on County Road 227 the 18-wheeler intentionally rammed one of our patrol vehicles and sending the vehicle into a ditch. We are very fortunate our Deputy was not physically injured during the vehicular assault. The pursuit ended when the 18-wheeler lost control and got stuck in a field at the intersection of County Road 87 and County Road 217. The driver of the 18-wheeler refused to get out of the vehicle. Sheriff Sanders called out our Special Response Team (SRT) to gain entry into the cab of the 18-wheeler. The Special Response Team was able to gain entry into the cab and take the suspect into custody with out further incident. The driver if the 18-wheeler Dustin Joshua Abbott age 32 was checked out by medical and cleared to be transported to the Lawrence County Jail. Sheriff Sanders states that Mr. Abbott was booked in the Lawrence County Jail on charges of Receiving Stolen Property 1st degree, Assault 2nd degree, attempting to elude, Criminal mischief and two counts of reckless endangerment. Other charges may be pending in Morgan County. The pursuit lasted for approx. 25 minutes and the standoff with Mr. Abbott last approximately 45 minutes. The 18-wheeler was reported stolen from Fultondale, AL.
All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
In a previous news release from this office relating to Mr. Abbott:
On Tuesday, April 28th 2020 deputies with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office responded to a trespassing call at a residence in the 8000 block of Alabama Highway 36 in the Speake community. Upon arrival they found the truck pictured below that had been reported stolen earlier in the day from a business in Lauderdale County. Deputies also found Dustin Joshua Abbott, age 31 at the location. Abbott was arrested and charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Burglary in the third degree, criminal trespass in the third degree, and criminal mischief in the second degree. Abbott remains in the Lawrence County jail with a hold by Florence Police Department.
Update Mr. Abbott pled guilty in June of 2021 to Receiving Stolen Property 1st degree and burglary 3rd. he was sentenced to 48 months. His sentence was suspended and he was placed on 48 months’ probation.
