BRODHEAD — A Janesville teen on probation remains “on the loose” after he ran from Brodhead police last week, according to Chief of Police Chris Hughes.

Juwaun Antwaun Carter, 17, is wanted by police in connection to a car theft, as well as possible charges of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia, operating a motor vehicle without consent and resisting police.

At about 7:45 p.m. Monday, July 22, an employee at Stop-N-Go, 2413 1st Center Ave., reported drug activity and two suspicious vehicles at the convenience store. Responding officers determined one of the vehicles, which was unoccupied, had been stolen out of Beloit.

Within about 15 minutes, Carter was identified as a suspect and police attempted to take him into custody. But he ran, and police lost sight of him in the area of Red Cedar Lane and Conifer Court on the southern edge of the city.

A Facebook post later that night from the Brodhead Police Department sought the public’s help in locating Carter and gave details on his attempted arrest.

Some commenters on the post criticized police for taking too long, about four hours, to announce the incident publicly.

In response, Chief Hughes explained that the investigation into the case that night had “spanned over four locations and involved multiple parties.”

“Given the information initially gathered by officers, the suspect posed no immediate threat to the public. Had we felt the public needed to know information sooner, we would do so,” he wrote.

He praised the Green County deputy, two Brodhead officers and one Brodhead dispatcher who managed the initial investigation and thanked the Stop-N-Go employee for reporting concerns to police. He also thanked the Red Cedar Lane-area resident who reported seeing a suspicious person in the neighborhood.

As of Friday, July 26, Carter had not been located.

Carter is on probation for a criminal traffic conviction of resisting police by failing to stop, stemming from an incident on his 16th birthday last year in Rock County. A separate felony charge of fleeing an officer in January was dismissed but “read in,” meaning the judge could consider it at sentencing.