LINCOLNTON, N.C. – A Lancaster, S,C, man is facing charges after he wrecked a stolen vehicle he was driving in eastern Lincoln County.

Deputies were observing traffic on NC 73 Highway in the afternoon of November 19, 2020 when a passing motorist informed them that a vehicle had overturned on its top at the construction entrance to the Trilogy subdivision.

When officers arrived on the scene an individual began walking away on Looking Glass Trail in the subdivision. The deputies noticed the vehicle did not have a license plate and stopped the individual a short distance away. The man told officers he did not know who was driving the vehicle but a witness said he saw him driving the car.

During the conversation the man, identified as Ernest Jemaar Elder, 39, of Lancaster, S.C., placed a hand inside his waistband allowing officers to see a shiny object. Deputies quickly placed the man in custody and a check of his person revealed a South Carolina license plate hidden in his pants. The license plate was registered to a pickup truck in Elder’s name. A check of the wrecked vehicle revealed it had been stolen from a location in Charlotte.

Elder was transported to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office where he was charged with one felony count of possession of stolen property, two counts of damage to real property, and resisting a public officer. Elder was placed in the Harven A. Crouse Detention Center under a $20,000 secured bond.