2 Charlotte men charged in break-ins at Lake Norman’s Peninsula community

Two Charlotte men who led police on a chase in the Lake Norman area Wednesday also were wanted by Cornelius police in connection with numerous break-ins in the upscale Peninsula community on the lake.

Police charged Djibril Sow, 25, and Ahmed Bachir Amadou, 23, with a combined 38 misdemeanor and felony counts in connection with the Peninsula vehicle and home break-ins.

Sow and Amadou have been in the Gaston County Jail since their arrests Wednesday.

A Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy suffered a leg injury and three patrol cars were damaged during the chase.

Sow and Amadou were arrested after one of them jumped into Lake Norman and then swam back to shore and the other suspect tried to run from police.

Mount Holly police began chasing the van the men were in after receiving a 911 call shortly after 4 a.m. about a break-in happening in the Stonewater Bay neighborhood, Police Chief Don Roper said.

The pursuit led into eastern Lincoln County, and sheriff’s deputies were called in to help, authorities said.

The lead Lincoln County patrol car tried to stop and turn around on the chase near the N.C. 16 -Unity Church Road intersection. That led to a chain-reaction collision with the two other patrol cars, Lincoln County sheriff’s spokesman Larry Seagle said.

The chase ended on N.C. 150 East in a construction zone on a bridge over the lake at the Iredell-Catawba county line.

The van crashed into construction equipment, and the two occupants jumped out, Seagle said.

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 4:02 PM with the headline "2 Charlotte men charged in break-ins at Lake Norman’s Peninsula community."