Coffey
A six-year old girl was left at an area church on Sunday after the vehicle she was in was stolen. The child was unharmed. According to a press release from the Elkin Police Department, a pickup truck was stolen from a 17-year old driver in the parking lot of the Elkin Walmart. Apparently unbeknownst to the suspect, the child was inside the vehicle.
Elkin Officers as well as Jonesville Police Officers began a search for the vehicle and spoke with the victim-driver and witnesses. The six-year-old girl was left by the suspect at the Richmond Hill Baptist Church near Boonville. The girl was cared for by a church member who called the Yadkin County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies with the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office later located the truck unoccupied on Wilkes Yadkin Road and a canine deputy tracked the suspect and apprehended him. Arrested and charged was 37-year old Christopher Davis Coffey of Lenoir. The vehicle the suspect arrived in at Walmart was recovered as a stolen vehicle, reportedly taken from Stokes County.
Coffey was charged by Corporal Brooks of the Elkin Police Department with second degree kidnapping, larceny of a motor vehicle, reckless driving to endanger persons or property, driving while license revoked, and assault on a female.
Coffey is also facing charges in Wilkes County and other jurisdictions.
The Elkin Police Department expressed appreciation for the assistance from other agencies and citizens involved in this case, including asset protection, management, and staff of the Elkin, Walmart, Richmond Hill Baptist Church, Jonesville Police Department, Yadkin County Sheriff’s Office, Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office, Surry County Sheriff’s Office, Surry County Communications, Stokes County Sheriff’s Office, Pilot Mountain Police Department, and NC Highway Patrol.