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Alabama teens caught with stolen firearms in Coweta County, police say

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Published  November 6, 2024 6:38pm EST
Newnan
FOX 5 Atlanta

Alabama teen caught driving with stolen gun

Newnan police said they've arrested three armed teenagers recently. One of them, according to police, was caught crossing state lines with a stolen gun under the driver's seat.

The Brief

    • Teenagers with guns are a growing concern in Newnan and Coweta County with two armed incidents reported in less than a week.
    • The arrested teenagers in both cases were not local to Coweta County; they were either visiting to allegedly commit crimes or just passing through.
    • Newnan police arrested a 17-year-old from Alabama, Jaydian Hardnett-Hunter, on multiple felony charges including possession of a stolen firearm and bringing it across state lines.
    • The community is on high alert following an armed carjacking by two teenagers, leading to a high-speed chase and a subsequent manhunt.
    • In the recent traffic stop leading to arrests, five juveniles were in the vehicle; charges were filed against the driver who was seated closest to the discovered firearms.

NEWNAN, Ga. - Authorities in Newnan and Coweta County say they have seen a disturbing trend of teenagers with guns. In less than a week, there have been two separate incidents of teens involving stolen guns.

It’s important to note that in these two incidents leading to the arrests of three armed teenagers, none of the teens were actually from Coweta County, but had either come to the area to allegedly commit crimes with the weapons or were passing through.

In the latest incident, Newnan police officers say they pulled over a carload of teenagers from Alabama and discovered two handguns under the driver’s seat. Police say one of them was stolen.

Newnan police say they pulled over four Alabama teens and found stolen guns on Oct. 26, 2024.

Newnan police say they pulled over four Alabama teens and found stolen guns on Oct. 26, 2024. (Newnan Police Department)

Police have charged the 17-year-old driver, Jaydian Hardnett-Hunter of Opelika, Alabama, with theft by receiving a stolen firearm, bringing a stolen weapon across state lines, underage possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, misdemeanor possession of marijuana, and a headlights violation, which was the reason for the traffic stop.

(Coweta County Sheriff's Office)

This is a community already on edge last week over the armed carjacking of a woman by a 15-year-old and 16-year-old.

That incident resulted in a high-speed chase, the immediate arrest of one of the teens, and a manhunt for the second one, who deputies captured later that evening.

Newnan police say they pulled over four Alabama teens and found stolen guns on Oct. 26, 2024.

Newnan police say they pulled over four Alabama teens and found stolen guns on Oct. 26, 2024. (Newnan Police Department)

In the aforementioned traffic stop, there were five juveniles in the car. The driver was charged because police say he was closest to the guns that were found under his seat.

Police say all of these weapons charges are felonies.