STAPLETON — Deputies have charged two men in the alleged early morning attempted theft and assault that took place Friday at Moody Electric on U.S. Highway 31 South. Two other suspects have been identified, but have not yet been charged.

According to Baldwin County Sheriff’s Capt. Steve Arthur, LaBerry Lavert Banks, 20, of Stockton is charged with third-degree burglary. Timothy Hooks, 36, also of Stockton, has been charged with third-degree attempted assault – in connection with allegations that he attempted to run over two sheriff’s deputies, and third-degree receiving stolen property, though Arthur said not all charges have been filed yet.

“There are multiple charges pending that will probably be presented to the grand jury,” Arthur said. As of Wednesday morning, Hooks had been released on $6,000 bond - $5,000 bond for the attempted assault charge and $1,000 on the receiving stolen property charge. Banks remains in the Baldwin County Corrections Center on a $15,000 bond.

The two men are among those accused of an attempted theft at approximately 3 a.m. Friday at Moody Electric. According to Baldwin County Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack, deputies responded to a reported theft in progress at the business north of Stapleton.

“When (deputies) arrived on scene, they learned that a private security guard had actually been witness to what (was) believed to be an attempted theft in progress,” Mack said during a press conference Friday.

“The deputies then went to where they saw one black male standing outside of a barn area that was housing a lot of wire, electrical wiring and things of that nature,” Mack said.

According to the sheriff, the suspect ran when the deputies asked him to stop. Deputies followed the suspect behind the building where they encountered a car that came at them at a high rate of speed, the sheriff said.

“The deputies tried to take evasive action to step out of the way of the vehicle,” the sheriff said, “but the vehicle kept approaching them and did not comply with their commands to halt.”

According to Mack, both deputies then fired multiple shots with their firearms. Meanwhile, he said, the deputies noticed two more black males fleeing on foot. They pursued the males on foot before losing them in the woods and calling for additional backup.

The investigation led authorities to two subsequent crime scenes, and the identity of the male allegedly driving the vehicle that sped toward deputies. The driver was identified as Hooks and the car allegedly used to try to run down the officers was located and recovered for evidence.

Mack said Hooks reportedly left the initial scene and drove to an apartment on Anderson Street in Bay Minette to receive aid for a gunshot wound to his left arm before going to see his mother, Carolyn Hooks. Accompanied by his mother, Hooks then turned himself in to the Baldwin County Sheriff‘s Correction Center docket room where it was noted he “was bleeding and appeared to have been shot.”

According to the sheriff, emergency personnel treated Hooks before transferring him to the University of South Alabama Medical Center for treatment of wounds that didn’t appear to be life threatening.

The names of the two deputies who fired at Hooks are not being released pending the outcome of an internal investigation regarding the incident. Arthur said the investigation, which is required any time a law enforcement officer injures a suspect, should be completed within a couple of days. Mack said he believes the deputies acted within the line of duty.

“They were confronted with a weapon,” he said. “In this case, that weapon was a moving vehicle.”