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Woman leads authorities on high-speed chase through 2 counties after shoplifting, officials say

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Officials said a shoplifting suspect is in custody after leading investigators on a high-speed chase through Lincoln and Gaston counties.

Investigators said Holly Dodson ran from her home near Stanley when officers went there to arrest her.

They said she then led deputies on a five-mile chase.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol said a trooper used a PIT (Pursuit Intervention Technique) maneuver to spin out Dodson’s car on Stockwood Drive.

Officials said at least two patrol cars were damaged and Dodson resisted a trooper who was trying to arrest her.

Troopers said she also hurled racial slurs at officers along the way.

[Police chase leads to fiery crash on I-85 near Mecklenburg/Gaston county line]

Dodson was taken into custody. Officials said she was wanted in an armed robbery on Mariposa Road.

Channel 9 spotted Dodson smiling in the back of a police car. Her bond is set at $100,000 for an incident that began with an accusation of shoplifting $23 worth of food.

Four agencies, at some point, attempted to stop Dodson, but she refused to stop even after she was forced to.

Dodson was combative with an officer trying to get her into a car to go the jail and had to push her into the backseat.

"They know when the situation ends like this it's not good for them,” Trooper Randall Pierce said.

Gastonia police said managers at the Quick Trip, across the street from the Gastonia Police Department, said she was shoplifting

After store workers approached her, she threatened to shoot them.

"I never figured something would happen like that with a police station next door,” shopper Michael Machek said.

Officers who arrived on the scene found her in her car in the parking lot.

Police said Dodson refused to lower her window and insisted to talk to them with the window cracked.

Dodson then sped off on Broad Street, but police didn't follow down the dead-end road because they were concerned about causing a disruption for parents who would soon drop off students at Wood Hill Elementary School.

Police also had Dodson’s address.

County police said to her home near Stanley and she drove off leading them on the five-mile chase.

Police haven't said what charges she will face.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

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