A purchase of collector shoes led to a high speed chase by civilians from Redding to Anderson Thursday night, with a car used as a weapon. 19-year-old Austin Alexander and a 15-year-old, both from Eureka, had arranged online to buy a pair of Nike sneakers from 19-year-old Anthony Larson in Redding. At around 6PM Thursday night the buyers and seller met at a location in South Redding to make the deal. While Alexander and his companion were inspecting the shoes, they suddenly jumped in their car and took off. Alexander reportedly drove south on Highway 273 at high speed as Larson and some of his family chased after them in two separate cars. At one point Larson and his family were able to use their two cars to box in Alexander’s car, but Alexander apparently rammed both of the other cars in order to escape and continue to flee. When they reached Anderson, they were stopped by the APD, which had been notified of the situation. Alexander was booked into jail for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. The juvenile was released to a relative. The shoes were recovered. It all could have been avoided because Redding police have two “community meet up spots” in front of the police station under video surveillance that are specifically intended for people to to safely make Internet purchases.