She told him no. He didn’t listen — and by the end of the night, deputies say the situation had spiraled into a stolen car, a missing phone, and an arrest across the river.
According to a report from the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, a woman using a wheelchair told deputies her grandson showed up at her home, sat down to eat snacks, and casually mentioned he had an active arrest warrant. She said she urged him to turn himself in, hoping to keep things from getting worse.
Instead, she told deputies, the situation escalated.
The woman said her grandson began demanding a ride to meet someone so he could obtain drugs. When she refused, she said his demeanor turned hostile. Deputies report the man forcibly took her car keys from her hand and then grabbed her cellphone before she could call for help.
She told deputies she warned him she would contact police if he took her car. He allegedly ignored her, left the house, and drove off in her vehicle without permission. She said she was not physically injured but was left without her phone and had to go to a neighbor’s home to call 911.
Deputies confirmed the vehicle belonged solely to the woman and that her grandson was not licensed to drive it. A BOLO was issued to local agencies, and the car was entered as stolen.
Family members later discovered the vehicle contained an Apple AirTag, which showed it had been left at an apartment complex across the river. Police located the car unattended and secured. Family members went to retrieve it.
But the story didn’t end there.
Later that night, an officer attempted a traffic stop on the same vehicle. Deputies say it accelerated away, fleeing across the bridge. Police soon located the car again — this time with Hunter Tooley behind the wheel.
Tooley was arrested on an outstanding warrant. Additional charges related to the incident, including vehicle theft and fleeing from police, are under review by investigators and prosecutors.
Deputies provided the woman with a victims’ rights packet and documented the incident with written statements and body-camera footage. The case has been forwarded to the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office for further action.
What began as a family dispute ended with flashing lights, an arrest, and a grandmother left shaken — a reminder that sometimes the hardest calls are the ones that start at home.