Deputies found a 5-gallon bucket of wire after four arrests, but authorities have not tied it to the abandoned property.
PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — Investigators have not determined the origin of a 5-gallon bucket of copper wire found inside a U-Haul after a police pursuit that began at an abandoned Paulding County gas station, leaving a key part of the case unresolved.
The copper wire was discovered after deputies stopped the truck following a suspicious activity call Tuesday at an old gas station on Dallas Acworth Highway. Four people were taken into custody, but authorities have not said the wire came from the building or announced theft charges connected to it.
Deputy James Turner said responding officers found people inside the abandoned building near a broken glass window. Deputies ordered them to come outside, but authorities said they initially refused. A woman later emerged from the building and entered a U-Haul truck as a deputy followed her.
Authorities identified the woman as Bobbie Eveans. Body camera footage released by the sheriff’s office showed a deputy ordering the driver to get out of the truck before it pulled away. Deputies then pursued the U-Haul as it traveled around traffic cones and other vehicles and went off the roadway at one point.
A deputy eventually used a PIT maneuver to stop the truck. Authorities said Eveans left the vehicle after it stopped and was arrested. Booking information lists allegations against her that include fleeing or attempting to elude, reckless driving, obstruction, failure to maintain a lane and loitering or prowling. The charges are allegations and have not been adjudicated.
Deputies also took Steven Haynes, Phillip Evans and Dana Garrett into custody and charged them with loitering, according to authorities. The property owner declined to pursue trespassing charges related to the abandoned gas station. The building was demolished shortly after the incident.
The discovery of copper wire inside the truck raised another question for investigators, but authorities have not publicly linked the material to the property. The sheriff’s office has not confirmed whether the wire had been removed from the gas station, obtained somewhere else or lawfully possessed before the encounter.
Officials also have not said whether additional charges involving the wire are being considered. Without evidence establishing where it came from, the presence of the material alone does not show that it was stolen from the building where deputies first encountered the group.
Other details about the pursuit also remain unclear. Authorities have not disclosed how far deputies followed the U-Haul before the PIT maneuver or whether the vehicle was legally rented. No confirmed information about injuries during the pursuit was included in the initial account.
As of Friday afternoon, Eveans remained in custody, while the three other people arrested in connection with the incident had bonded out, according to jail information cited in the original report. Authorities had not announced a resolution to questions surrounding the copper wire.
Author note: Last updated November 14, 2026.