Advertisement Gun owner who ended manhunt: 'I told him to get down' Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A Gaston man says his Second Amendment right helped land two men behind bars. Two Lexington County men were arrested after a high-speed chase near Gaston Thursday afternoon.Police say it was a simple attempted traffic stop that turned into a high-speed chase."This chase started because Gaston police attempted to make a traffic stop on the two individuals due to a seat belt violation," Capt. Adam Myrick with the Lexington County Sheriff's Department said. "Actually, two of them – the passenger and the driver."Deputies and officers say it went on for about 10 miles through southern Lexington County near Gaston. At one point, they say, a deputy used what's called a stop stick to help put an end to the chase."When a car travels over them, a small spike comes out of them, penetrates the tires, opens up an airway for air to then leave the tire. So it flattens the tire," Myrick said.But, at that point, the chase wasn't over.Moments later, dashcam video shows the red truck pull off the road and crash into a tree; the driver dashes and the passenger is handcuffed.A homeowner, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the driver, Joseph Drafts, trespassed onto his property while fleeing from law enforcement personnel. It took the homeowner by surprise."I really just want to thank the Lord for keeping me and my family safe," he said. "When the police told us there was a manhunt, we didn't know if it was a manhunt because he was wanted for, you know, for what. We just knew he was in the area. We didn't know why he was there."The homeowner said he dropped what he was working on, pulled out his gun and held Drafts at gunpoint."I told him to get down," said the homeowner, a member of the National Rifle Association who holds a concealed weapons permit. "I told him repeatedly to get down and lay face down. My co-worker that had just pulled up -- I turned around and yelled at him to go get the cops at the other end of the property."Drafts was arrested just minutes later. Deputies later said if it weren't for the homeowner, they wouldn't have made an arrest as quickly.Meanwhile, the homeowner's glad he could help and glad it went smoothly too."I just knew I wanted to get him in a place that he couldn't run and he couldn't come at me or my wife," he said.The driver, Drafts, was arrested and charged with driving under suspension fourth offense, failure to stop for blue lights and breach of trust.Lexington County said Heirbrane Foster, the passenger, was charged with possession of drugs.More charges could be coming.Copyright 2016 WIS. All rights reserved.