JONESVILLE — A Tennessee man was arrested for carjacking Sunday afternoon after allegedly using a weapon to steal a vehicle from a Lee County gas station.
Anthony Caldwell, 31, of Morristown, Tenn., is charged with a single count of carjacking following the incident, which took place at the Black Diamond Market off U.S. Highway 58 in Ewing.
Lee County Sheriff Gary Parsons said a man had just left his vehicle at the pump and gone into the market to pay for his gas when the alleged carjacking took place.
According to Parsons, a woman was sitting in the parked car when Caldwell approached it and jumped in. Caldwell, who was brandishing what appeared to be a handgun, reportedly ordered the woman to get out before he drove off with the vehicle.
Parsons said deputies found the car abandoned on the side of the road approximately 20 minutes later. The location where the vehicle was found was roughly a mile from where the alleged carjacking took place.
Parsons said Caldwell attempted to flee from police by running into nearby woods after abandoning the vehicle. He was arrested without incident by LCSO deputies following a short foot chase.
The weapon Caldwell allegedly used to help carryout the carjacking was later discovered to be a BB gun.
Parsons said Caldwell had recently been released from incarceration in Tennessee, and described him as being "desperate." Caldwell is currently being held without bond in the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Duffield.
The woman who was allegedly threatened during the carjacking was reportedly unhurt, Parsons said.