STAPLETON — Three men are in custody and two Baldwin County Sheriff’s deputies are on leave following the investigation of an alleged early-morning theft attempt in north Baldwin County Friday.

According to Baldwin County Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack, three black male residents of the Bay Minette area are in custody for questioning in relation to two deputies’ 3 a.m. response to a “9-1-1 transfer call of what was to be believed to be a theft in progress at Moody’s Electric, just north of Stapleton, Ala., on U.S. Highway 31.”

“When they (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 alleged theft in progress, the sheriff explained, was about 150 yards from where the deputies were when they arrived.

“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. So the deputies gave chase as the suspect ran behind the barn. Upon coming behind the barn, Mack said, the deputies encountered a car that came at them at a high rate of speed.

“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 also noticed a second and third black male fleeing on foot. They pursued the males on foot before losing them in the woods and calling for additional backup.

According to Mack, the Sheriff’s Department’s investigation, which led authorities to two subsequent scenes, also led them to learn that the identity of the male allegedly driving the vehicle that sped toward deputies, which was also located and recovered for evidence, is Timothy LaShaun Hooks of Bay Minette.

Mack said they also learned that upon fleeing deputies, Hooks allegedly drove to an apartment on Anderson Street in Bay Minette to receive aid for a gunshot wound to his left arm before heading to see his mother, Carolyn Hooks and , with her accompanying him, turning himself in to the Baldwin County Sheriff‘s Correction Center docket room “and 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 don’t appear to be life threatening.

While processing Hooks, Mack said the Sheriff’s Office tentatively identified the two additional suspects, both of whom are in custody.

“At this time, no charges have been filed,” Mack said. “We do anticipate charges in the very near future. But keep in mind, right now we’re still working two crime scenes and processing two vehicles.”

He explained that the second vehicle is the one in which Hooks arrived at the Correction Center.

According to Mack, the names of the two deputies who shot at the vehicle Hooks allegedly drove in their direction is not being released until an internal investigation is complete. However, the sheriff said he does believe they acted within the line of duty.

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

The unnamed deputies were already scheduled to have time off through the weekend, Mack said, explaining that the need for additional leave will be evaluated Monday if there are still questions in the internal investigation.

According to Mack, Hooks has an arrest record that dates back 16 years.

“Mr. Hooks has been booked 10 times since 1994,” the sheriff said. “Some were felonies, and some were misdemeanors.”

Mack also believes that this is not the first time Hooks and the two suspects have allegedly targeted Moody’s Electric.

“There have been previous thefts,” he said.