MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A teenager accused of at least two carjackings and leading police on a high-speed chase through the city is looking at a stack of charges.
Detectives say 18-year-old Daterious Gipson committed a string of crimes.
One of his victims claims he was just trying to be a nice guy when things backfired on him.
“It all led to me being set up, robbed at gunpoint. I had to run for my life, literally and being shot at,” the man said.
The victim says back in September he agreed to give a ride to a woman he met on Facebook, though he admitted he didn’t know her that well.
They went to a home off Powell, in Highland Heights, to pick up some clothes — or so he thought.
Some men she claimed were her brothers appeared, and that’s when he says several men, one of them, Gipson, began attacking him.
He ran from his car, and all of his items stolen — car, wallet, cellphone, kids’ carseat and clothes.
Detectives say nearly a month later they were patrolling the same street, a street known to have previous vehicle thefts and robberies, when they discovered the victim’s red Chevy Impala behind an abandoned home.
Investigators believe Gipson is behind another carjacking and stolen car case on the same road on the same day in September. They also believe this man Eric Cole helped Gipson in plotting the carjacking.
Gipson was caught Dec. 20 after a high-speed chase that began when officers spotted him at Summer and Highland driving an Infiniti with a “chameleon paint job.” The chase ended when he blew a tire at Lamar and Perkins, and officers pepper sprayed him before arresting him, according to police.
He is in the Shelby County Jail charged with auto theft, evading arrest and resisting detention. The district attorney’s office has also recommended attempted murder and other charges, according to a court affidavit.
The victim said he is grateful for detectives’ diligent work.
“These guys getting off the streets, hopefully it can make the city a little safer.”
But he has a message to others who might meet someone online: “If you don’t know them personally, I’d say if you haven’t known them for years, leave them alone.”
