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WEST COLUMBIA, SC -- The Richland County Sheriff's Department has confirmed that it has Mario Pearson in custody.  Pearson turned himself in at 2:30 PM at the Richland County Sheriff's Department Headquarters on Two Notch Road.  This comes after the Lexington County Sheriff's Department discontinued the search for him near West Columbia.  This was in connection with a carjacking that occurred in Richland County on Thursday.

On Friday morning, the search for Mario Pearson began at 8:15 AM when officials say he drove away from a Lexington County Sheriff's deputy in a white Mazda 3 four-door sedan that had been reported stolen to the Richland County Sheriff's Department during a carjacking incident Thursday night.

Lexington County Sheriff James R. Metts said the Lexington County Sheriff's deputy responded to a call about a suspicious motor vehicle that was parked in a church parking lot on Leaphart Road near West Columbia. The deputy found 19-year-old Mario Sinclaire Pearson sitting asleep behind the steering wheel of that car. Pearson gave the deputy his identification card.

According to Lexington County Sheriff James Metts, the deputy returned to his patrol car in order to contact the Lexington County Communications Center to determine whether Pearson was wanted and whether Pearson was legally allowed to be using the car. A telecommunications operator at the Communications Center informed the deputy that the Mazda sedan had been reported stolen to the Richland County Sheriff's Department.

Before the deputy could return to the Mazda sedan, Pearson drove off in the vehicle, Metts said. The deputy tried to stop the vehicle but wasn't able to do so.

Sheriff Metts said deputies began searching for Pearson and the Mazda sedan in neighborhoods off Leaphart Road on foot as well as in patrol cars. K-9 police dogs and the Sheriff's Department helicopter also were utilized during the search.

The case had been turned over to the Richland County Sheriff's Department and a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force for further investigation.

WACH FOX News has been following this story... here's what we had earlier today:

We have some breaking news coming into the WACH FOX News Center. A man wanted for Carjacking in Richland County was spotted in West Columbia, this morning.  Lexington County Deputies are in pursuit of Mario Pearson who reportedly carjacked a female victim Thursday on Heather Court in Richland County.  The pursuit is continuing in the area of  Pineview Elementary School in West Columbia (Lexington County).

According to Richland County Sheriff's Department, Mario Pearson approached the victim in her vehicle, while pointing a handgun and forced her out of the vehicle, then pepper sprayed her.  The vehicle is a 2004 white Mazda 3 Sedan (4-door). Heather Court is in the Harbison area in the Forest Subdivision. Richland County Sheriff is charging Pearson with Carjacking and Assault & Battery of a high and aggravated nature.Lexington County deputies and the West Columbia Police are on the scene actively searching for Mario Pearson. 

Authorities contacted Pineview Elementary school earlier this morning and Superintendent Dr. Venus Holland says the school is on lockdown because of the situation.  The school has standard operating safety procedures for the protection of all students.  Lexington County Sheriff's Department 's Resource Officers are engaged and additional officers are on duty for this situation. All afternoon sessions for four-year-old kindergarten students have been cancelled. 

We'll continue to update this story here at MidlandsConnect.com and on WACH FOX News.