Lenoir City man charged with car

Blount County law enforcement recovered a vehicle less than four hours after it was reported stolen from a home in Friendsville on Saturday, March 4. Charles Saul Akins, 20, has been charged with auto theft and illegal possession/fraudulent use of a credit card.

A Friendsville man initially reported at 9:19 p.m. Saturday that his car, along with his wallet and several electronic devices inside had been stolen from his home, according to a police report from the Blount County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies said the man had been charging his devices in his car because the power was out at his home.

The missing car was described as a black 2015 Kia Optima. The owner later reported that his credit card had been used to make an $852.70 purchase at a Walmart in Alcoa.

At about 11:23 p.m. Maryville Police officers received a call from dispatchers saying Blount County Sheriff’s deputies were trying to catch up to a black Kia sedan coming into the Maryville city limits near the Blount County Correctional Facility. Officers said they spotted the Kia near Maryville College and got behind it, but the driver immediately accelerated “at one point reaching 83 mph in a 45 mph zone.”

Officers caught up to the Kia and turned on their lights, at which point the driver, later identified as Akins, pulled into a gas station and stopped.

Officers said they got out of their cars to approach Akins, but said he began to make a U-turn between gas pumps. They said dispatchers told them the car was stolen at the same time, so they drew their guns and took him into custody. Two passengers riding with him were also detained.

A search of the car allegedly resulted in the discovery of 0.39 grams of suspected methamphetamine.

Akins’ passengers, Holly G. Green, 30, and Nicholas Lynn Hardin, 22, both without address, agreed that they did not know him and had only been picked up from the side of the road.

Both were cited on a charge of simple possession of methamphetamine and released. Officers did not say whether the other contents of the car had been recovered.

Law enforcement gave the owner of the car a ride to the scene and allowed him to take his vehicle home.

Akins was transported to the Blount County jail at 12:07 a.m. March 5, where he was being held in lieu of bonds totaling $37,500 pending 9 a.m. March 7 and 9 a.m. March 9 hearings in Blount County General Sessions Court.