By KAREN DAILY

A 43-year-old man has been jailed on allegations he stole a purse containing a checkbook from a woman in Williston, tried to cash one of the checks at the First Citizens Bank in Beech Island and then led police on a pursuit into Georgia after he attempted to rob another woman, officials said.

Larry Jerome Rainey was arrested in Richmond County on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and taken to the Richmond County Detention Center.

He faces pending criminal charges from Georgia and will remain incarcerated until he is extradited to South Carolina, where he will be charged with armed robbery, officials said.

Around 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 3 a man approached the second woman, 53-year-old Sharon McBride, while she was loading her car with recently purchased merchandise from the Shoppes at North Augusta. The man told her not to move, but believing a friend was playing a joke on her, she turned around. A man was pointing a black semi-automatic pistol at her stomach. She immediately began to scream, stated Detective Tim Thornton, a North Augusta Department of Public Safety spokesperson.

"Startled by her reaction, the suspect jumped in his car and left the parking lot to Knox Avenue," the detective said.

Witnesses told police the suspect was driving an old black-and-white police car last seen headed west on Martintown Road toward Georgia Avenue.

Officers in an unmarked patrol vehicle observed the suspect headed down Georgia Avenue toward the 13th Street bridge, headed into Georgia.

North Augusta Public Safety relayed this information to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office, and deputies responded to the downtown Augusta area. North Augusta officers continued to follow the suspect at a normal speed. The suspect was unaware that law enforcement officers were behind him, officials said.

Richmond County deputies initiated a traffic stop, but the suspect quickly accelerated.

The suspect turned onto the on-ramp to I-520 (Bobby Jones Expressway) headed back toward South Carolina when he lost control of the vehicle, Thornton stated.

The vehicle spun to a complete stop, and the driver exited the vehicle and attempted to run; however, deputies were there to arrest him.

The suspect jumped out of his car while leaving it in gear.

It rolled down the ramp, striking a North Augusta Public Safety vehicle.

The driver was taken into police custody. He was the only motorist in the vehicle.