Monday, February 13, 2017
Warrants issued against driver who nearly ran down a police officer
Lawrenceburg Now
Law enforcement officers arrested one man and issued warrants against another after he attempted to run down a police officer at a city park Saturday morning.
According to reports filed through the Lawrenceburg Police Department, officers were dispatched shortly after 8:00 a.m. to Sims Street Park in response to complaints by residents. They reported seeing two vehicles parked side-by-side with the drivers “exchanging something through the windows.”
When the reporting officer arrived on the scene, he notes that there was a silver van parked alongside a blue Ford Crown Victoria. He approached on foot and reports that the driver of the car “slowly moved toward the back of the parking lot,” then turned around.
He indicates that he spoke to the driver of the van, then began to walk around the vehicle to speak with the driver of the car. As soon as he rounded the van, he reports, “I found myself in the path of the vehicle as the driver accelerated quickly towards me.”
The officer reports, “I was able to get out of the way, but not before making eye contact with the driver.” He identified that driver as twenty-three year old Demetri Jamyes Richard. He reports that he ordered Richard several times to halt, even using his name, but that he refused to do so. Richard reportedly swerved, driving through a grassy area to exit the park.
Reports show that the officer instructed the van driver, identified as Timothy Joe Henson, Jr., 31, to remain where he was with other responding officers. He then got into his vehicle to pursue Richard along Spring Avenue. He reports that Richard drove only a few hundred yards before losing control of his car and ending up in a yard. He then exited and fled on foot.
Police officers, joined by deputies with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department, conducted a search of the area, but were unable to locate Richard at that time.
The reporting officer found a cigarette pack that had been dropped on the ground beside Richard’s door. It contained 5.8 grams of crystal meth, nine oxycodone pills, two unidentified pills, 4.9 grams of marijuana, and seven suboxone strips. The vehicle was inventoried prior to being towed to the city impound lot. A Mossberg .22 caliber “AR style pistol” was found concealed beneath some carpet in the truck, “tucked into the frame of the vehicle.”
Officers report that when they spoke with Henson he was uncooperative and gave a false name. He told officers that he did not know Richard. He said that “he had been flagged down by him and asked if he knew a certain girl in the neighborhood.” He said that he had only pulled over a few seconds before the officer arrived. Officers report, however, that at one point he referred to Richard by a nickname that had not been mentioned.
Officers determined Henson’s identity and conducted a search of his vehicle. Inside, the officer reports, “I observed marijuana pieces all over the floor storage compartment.” In addition, Henson was found to have on his person $1,927 in cash. The van, cash, and Henson’s cell phone were seized into evidence and he was arrested on charges that include filing a false police report and accessory after the fact. He was jailed under a bond of $40,000.
The reporting officer obtained warrants, charging Richard with the crimes of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, evading arrest, violation of the drug free school zone, driving on a suspended license, possession of Schedule VI narcotics, and two counts of possession of Schedule II narcotics.
