A 31-year old man is in custody after a police pursuit in West Rome Thursday afternoon. The search for the suspect resulted in three schools being placed lockdown.

According to Sgt. Bryan Goresh with the Rome Police Department, county police issued a lookout for a vehicle that had been stolen in the Coosa area.

A Rome officer spotted the truck on Shorter Avenue. The driver of the truck acted as though he was going to turn into Harbor Freight tools, but continued on Shorter.

He then turned onto Westdale Avenue and eventually onto Belmont Drive, which is a dead end.

However, he jumped the curve, crashed through a fence, and traveled through a playground adjacent to Westminster Presbyterian Church.

The driver eventually exited the vehicle and ran into a wooded area.

The K-9 Unit was called in to search and the man was found, hiding in the thick brush. The man has been identified as Russell Steven Carr, believed to be from the Cartersville area.

He is facing charges from both the city and county police. West Central, West End and Elm Street were on lockdown for about 30 minutes as were looking for Carr.

According to Tim Fleming, Security Director for the Rome City Schools, the schools were placed on lockdown as a precaution when they received word of the incident.

(WRGA Rome/www.wrgarome.com)