Stolen minivan led to gunfire in Raleigh parking lot

A Chrysler Pacifica was stolen from a home on Paint Rock Lane, and the owner, Jamie Torres, ran into the street yelling and grabbed a door handle in a desperate attempt to stop the thief.

"She was holding on all the time. Of course, he put it in drive and started to go rather fast," a neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said Monday. "She was attempting to stop it but there was no way she was going to. ... She was yelling and screaming at him. It was very vocal."

Investigators said Torres' boyfriend, Joseph Calvin Culverhouse, then forced her to chase after the minivan while he fired shots at the vehicle to stop it.

The chase ended in the parking lot of a Food Lion in the 3600 block of New Bern Avenue.

There, police found the bullet-riddled Pacifica, but the other vehicle involved in the shooting had already left the area.

No one was hurt in the shooting, but the shopping center was locked down for a short time while police investigated.

After tracing the ownership of the minivan to Torres, police arrested Culverhouse, 31, of 6921 Paint Rock Lane, on Sunday and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon with intent kill, kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Prosecutors say Culverhouse has a long list of assault convictions from Texas.

The kidnapping charge stems from forcing Torres into the vehicle to chase down the minivan, police said.

Torres declined to comment Monday about the incident.

A judge in Wake County domestic violence court ordered Culverhouse to be held under a $400,000 bond.

Endrell Dwayne Oliver, 46, of 4061 Northstone Drive in Raleigh, was arrested Saturday and charged with stealing the Pacifica. He remains in jail under a $20,000 bond.

Police said Oliver, Culverhouse and Torres know each other.