Person County Sheriff Jason Wilborn said two men linked to a troubled Triangle-area nonprofit were taken into custody and bailed out the same day.
The arrest came days after authorities said the pair led officers on a chase through three counties.
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WRAL reported that Courtney Jordan and Nicholas Gallardo crashed their vehicle during the July 26 pursuit and later left a hospital before deputies arrived with felony warrants.
Jordan’s nonprofit, the Courtney Jordan Foundation, has been the subject of multiple WRAL Investigates reports. Gallardo is the chief financial officer of CJF America, a branch of the foundation and initiative aimed to "build stronger communities through innovative programs that empower youth, promote education, and foster economic growth."
According to court documents, the two men were able to stay under the radar through the use of rental vehicles.
Deputies searched a home near Timberlake in connection with the arrests.
Jordan and Gallardo also had outstanding warrants in Durham County.
According to the Person County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy responded around 2 a.m. July 26 to an alarm at Helena Elementary School in Timberlake. The deputy spotted a Nissan Murano in the parking lot and attempted to stop it, according to an incident report.
A spokesperson from Person County Schools confirmed the alarm trigger was not related to Jordan and Gallardo.
The driver fled, reaching speeds of 80 to 90 mph as deputies pursued the SUV through Person, Durham and Orange counties. The vehicle struck a deer during the chase, the report said.
Investigators said the SUV later went airborne, crashed through a fence and struck a tree. Jordan and Gallardo ran from the vehicle before deputies detained them in a wooded area.
The two were taken to a hospital after the crash but left before officers arrived to take them into custody, the sheriff’s office said.
Person County deputies seized more than a dozen electronic devices, laptops, financial and identification cards, documents, 51 pills of oxycodone hydrochloride and 3 dosage units of buprenorphine while searching the 2020 Nissan Murano driven in the crash and a bookbag linked to the men.
Person County called in help from the state and federal levels. According to Sheriff Wilborn, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation took over the the flee-to-elude investigation.
"We just came back with a search warrant here to seize any items here that we find that could be related to any frauds or anything else could possibly be going on," said Person County Sheriff Jason Wilborn. "And we're looking for any potential for any narcotics or anything like that. Documentation, documents."
