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Thursday, April 24, 2014

Five Agencies Involved In Tuesday Night Pursuit

   Law enforcement officers from five local agencies joined in a pursuit Tuesday night that began in Ethridge and ended in Loretto.

   The incident began around 9:30 p.m. when a Lawrence County Sheriff’s deputy on patrol attempted to stop a vehicle for traffic infractions. Reports show that the deputy first attempted to stop the black, 1998 Dodge Dakota when he noticed it traveling at a high rate of speed on Ethridge Red Hill Road.

   Reports indicate that the driver, traveling westbound, failed to stop at the Buffalo Road intersection. He refused to stop when the deputy signaled him to do so, instead accelerating to speeds of between 70 and 80 miles per hour.

   As the deputy gave chase, he reports that the driver failed to stop at the Red Hill Center Road intersection, causing another driver to make an abrupt stop.

Shortly afterward the deputy noticed that the driver threw some items out of his window. The deputy continued to follow.

He reports that the driver failed to stop at the Waynesboro Highway and U.S. Highway 64 intersections, causing several drivers to stop in order to avoid collisions.

   The driver pulled into a driveway across the highway, losing control of the truck in an open field. Once he regained control the deputy reports that he again fled, heading east across private property and crossing two fields before re-entering the highway.

The driver was traveling eastbound toward Lawrenceburg when the deputy lost visual contact.

   At that time the owner of Brazier’s Market notified authorities that the two individuals in the truck had stopped, come into the store, and dumped a gun and some other items into the bathroom trash can. The gun was later determined to be a pellet pistol.

   Another deputy who was en route to assist reported catching sight of the truck. He reports that he turned around to give chase, but that he lost sight of the truck at that point.

   Within a few moments deputies were notified that an officer with the Tennessee Highway Patrol had located the truck and was in pursuit. He was soon joined by a sheriff’s department investigator and officers with the Lawrenceburg, Loretto and Saint Joseph Police Departments.

   Officers pursued the truck along Long Branch Road where the driver drove into a field, eventually returning to the roadway.

He drove through a yard at a Cedar Hill Road residence, then headed along Old Jackson Highway, to Augustin Lane, and onto Cherokee Hills Drive.

   THP was able to deploy spike strips and reports show that the driver ran across them. He was still able to drive, heading northbound on Highway 43. At this time officers attempted a rolling roadblock.

They report that the driver struck a patrol car and ran off the roadway where they were able to pin the vehicle, ending the pursuit.

   Driver Nicky Joe Johns, age 33, and passenger Tarah Leigh Blackwell, 28, were taken into custody.

   Reports show that when officers searched the truck they found drug-related items including unidentified pills and syringes.

Other items seized during the incident were a bag containing meth, a syringe containing morphine, a case containing a rubber arm band, and various items of drug paraphernalia.

   The pair was transported to the Lawrence County Detention Center where Johns was given field sobriety tests.

Reports show that he performed poorly and that he subsequently refused a blood draw as required by the implied consent law.

Officers determined that the driver’s licenses of both Johns and Blackwell had been revoked.

   Charges of possession of Schedule II narcotics (morphine) and felony possession of drug paraphernalia were issued against both Johns and Blackwell.

Johns was additionally charged with driving on a revoked license, second offense DUI, violation of the implied consent law, evading arrest, reckless endangerment, and reckless driving.

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